


Lost My Way

by hopefulcloud



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Gen, Magic, Magical Accidents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopefulcloud/pseuds/hopefulcloud
Summary: A month after the events of 'See Me', the group of friends have finally found some rest and peace and honesty with each other- that is, until Soobin goes missing and a vision given to Yeonjun shows him trapped in a mysterious dungeon. They know magic has something to do with this, but they aren't entirely sure what to do until a chance meeting occurs with another group of boys who have had experience with magic and magical trials. It turns out they are missing a friend, too, and the two groups have to work together to save their lost friends.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	1. Obstacles

_ Yeonjun walked quietly down a long, dark hallway. He was frightened, but he wasn’t really sure what he was frightened of. The environment he was in just triggered a fear in him that he was potentially in some danger, like the Magic Island, but he still wasn’t even sure what he was doing here. _

_ “Magic, what have you gotten me into this time?” he asked softly. His voice echoed around the hallway, following the echo of his footsteps. He reached out and touched the brick wall that made up the hallway, and he suddenly envisioned that he was in some ancient dungeon. Why would the magic bring him here? _

_ Then he heard a soft whimpering and he stopped in his tracks. There was someone else here, but...what did that mean? Friend or foe? He wasn’t sure he could trust the magic, because it had brought them to some awful places before. Was this another awful place? But why was he alone? _

_ It dawned on him that maybe that whimpering was one of his friends, so he suddenly didn’t care how loud he was, he took off running down this never ending hallway to find the source of the crying. _

_ That was when the brick wall seemed to give way to a wall made of iron bars. This was a dungeon! He was right! He slowed his steps and reached for a fiery torch that appeared on the wall next to the cell. He held the torch close to the bars so he could see who was locked inside, and that’s when his eyes met very familiar ones. _

_ “Soobin!?” _

_ Before Soobin could answer, a shadow of a human with large wings was cast along the floor. Yeonjun held his torch up to try and see who it was, but the figure was too far away. “Who are you!? What are you doing with Soobin!?” _

_ “Doors are meant to be open,” the figure replied. “But dreams aren’t welcomed here. We'll be waiting for your true arrival.”  _

  
  
  


Yeonjun gasped and sat upright. He put a hand to his forehead and felt sweat beading at his hairline and he quickly wiped it away and grabbed for his phone. He texted Soobin immediately, even if he knew it was too early in the morning to demand an answer. He just couldn’t help it, he had to know that Soobin was okay.

Was this dream a vision of the future? Was the magic warning him of something? 

His leg bounced as he waited for a response from Soobin, but his friend hadn’t even looked at the message yet. He groaned and just got up, grabbing a black hoodie that was hanging over a chair, and pulling on a pair of socks as he marched out of the room and towards the door where his shoes waited for him.

He quickly slipped on his shoes and walked out into the early morning air. 5AM was definitely too early to be bothering his friend on a school morning, but he didn’t care. He knew not to ignore visions or dreams, the magic that had bonded to him and his friend group had proven many times to be mysterious and often sent them messages in this way, so he knew he had to find out what this dream meant.

He had to know if Soobin really was in danger.

He hurried up to Soobin’s house and banged on the front door. He knew Soobin was by himself, so he didn’t feel like he was going to wake up his whole family. Not that he would have cared in this situation.

He huffed when there was no response and he bent down to move away the welcome mat in front of the door and picked up the spare key from underneath it. He unlocked the door and made his way inside. He kicked off his shoes and hurried through the house and up the stairs to Soobin’s room. Last time he had been here with the boys it had been a traumatic time. Now that was behind them, but it had only been a month and they were still overcoming a lot of their issues. They were doing it together, of course, but sometimes Soobin still seemed so reserved. 

Yeonjun was not going to let him suffer alone.

He approached the door and knocked on it. “Soobin,” he said softly. He couldn’t understand why Soobin wouldn’t respond. Didn’t he know Yeonjun was worried? Probably not since he still hadn’t read the message Yeonjun had sent. He frowned and then opened the door and walked inside. 

His heart dropped. The room was empty. 

He quickly approached the bed and the blankets were all disheveled. He began moving the blankets and searching the bed for any clues as to where Soobin might be, which was how he found his best friend’s phone tangled up in the sheets and only with five percent battery.

“Soobin,” he whispered. He knew his friend would never leave his phone like this. What had happened to him? He knew he couldn’t jump to conclusions before contacting the others. Maybe he had gone over to someone else’s house because he was lonely and had just forgotten his phone.

Surely he wasn’t really trapped in a dungeon in some magical place that Yeonjun couldn’t even begin to understand.

He immediately texted the entire group,  _ ‘Please tell me Soobin is with one of you.’ _

He sat on the edge of the bed and prayed they would respond quickly. It was a school morning, so surely they would be awake soon, anyway. It  _ was _ early, but if Soobin was in danger there was no time to waste.

_ ‘Not me. Why? Is he okay?’  _ Taehyun was the first to reply, and Yeonjun just felt his throat tighten. But no, he shouldn’t panic yet! Hueningkai and Beomgyu still hadn’t responded.

_ ‘Not here. What’s going on?’  _ Beomgyu replied next, a few minutes later. Yeonjun’s heart was pounding now. 

_ ‘He’s not with me. But I saw him yesterday afternoon...what’s going on?’  _

Now Yeonjun knew he was in danger. The magic had told him through that dream that Soobin was in danger and trapped somewhere. He texted back with shaking fingers,  _ ‘We have to meet right now. I know it’s a long way, but you have to come to Soobin’s house. Now.’  _

__ He dropped his phone and then grabbed a notebook that was sitting on Soobin’s desk and quickly began writing down all the details he could still remember from his dream. He had to make sure it was all correct, he had to remember as much as he could so he could inform them properly. He heard his phone continuing to ping with messages, but he didn’t have the capacity to respond to those messages right now. He knew they would be asking questions that he had no answers for, anyway.

They just needed to come here so he could explain the insanity of the dream he had witnessed, and try to figure out how Soobin had gotten trapped somewhere that Yeonjun could visit in that dream. 

Had Soobin found a magical doorway and entered without the rest of them? Why would he have done something so dangerous? And how were they going to find the same doorway?

It was a big task, but once again they were going to have to put their fears behind them and do their best to use the magic gifted to them in order to save Soobin. 


	2. Planning

The group were now sitting all around Soobin’s room. There was an anxious energy that seemed to come from all of them, but no one knew what to do. There was too much uncertainty about the circumstances of Soobin’s disappearance for them to even wrap their heads around how this had occurred. 

“We don’t know what opens doorways, though,” Beomgyu finally said after the silence settled over them once Yeonjun had finished explaining. “Any time we’ve found one, it’s been an accident. We kind of concluded that the magic opens the way for us when it wants us to do something, right? So, how do we do this? How do we save him?” 

“Well, the magic sent Yeonjun a dream, so it must want us to find him!” Hueningkai pointed out as he gestured to the older boy. “We have to figure it out.”

Taehyun sighed. “The dream didn’t even give us anything to work off of, though,” he said softly. “I thought maybe the dream would have had a hint in it, but...aside from you finding a torch and a cell and a long hallway, and that figure with wings, I don’t see anything that would lead us to finding a doorway. Do you?” he asked, and then he glanced down at his phone as it buzzed. “Oh...hold on. My mom is asking me where I am.” he stood up and walked out of the room to call his mother, which was fair since he had left so early in the morning.

“We should go to school,” Yeonjun finally said. “I know it seems wrong, but every time something happens, it happens around our time at school.”

“But Soobin wasn’t at school,” Beomgyu pointed out. “He was clearly in his room, right?” 

“The magic does seem to reach us more in school,” Hueningkai agreed. “But if that doesn’t work, we can just meet back here after school and figure it out, right?”

“Right,” Yeonjun agreed. “Come on, we gotta go and get dressed in our uniforms.” he stood up and then walked to the door just as Taehyun started to walk back in. “We’re gonna go to school. Come on.”

Taehyun tilted his head, but then he nodded. “Alright,” he agreed. “I brought my uniform in my backpack, so I’ll just get changed here.” 

“You’re so smart,” Beomgyu chuckled as he patted Taehyun’s shoulder. “I gotta run home and get mine.”

“Well, I kinda thought this would be a longer talk so I wanted to be prepared,” Taehyun looked at his friends. “What did you decide?”

“The magic always meets us at school, right? We need to go there to find a doorway,” Yeonjun explained. “Even if that’s not where Soobin found his magical doorway, it might be where we find ours.”

Taehyun hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded. “Alright,” he agreed. “That seems like the best place to start. Better than sitting around and not knowing what to do.”

That was enough for the group, so after Taehyun got changed they quickly walked each other to their homes so they could get changed into their school uniforms, Taehyun being the only one that didn’t need to stop home, and then they finally got onto the train that would bring them to their school. This train had unexpectedly been a transport to Magic Island once, a long time ago, and even as they sat there Yeonjun kept looking around the train car, as if trying to find some way to make the magic open a door for them even here. He was starting to feel desperate as the minutes ticked by, and he worried about what was happening to Soobin, and who had taken him to that strange place.

They hadn’t faced any particular enemy in their adventures before. They had been attacked by magical events, some evil magic or perhaps just uncontrollable magic, but they had never faced a true entity that might want to hurt them. It frightened Yeonjun, because he knew he was going to have to watch out for his younger friends so they wouldn’t be harmed, but he knew they needed to go together. It was their best chance to save Soobin, because they were stronger together.

“You okay?” Hueningkai asked as he seemed to notice Yeonjun’s anxious energy. 

Yeonjun looked down at him from where he was standing and holding onto the bar near the seats where his friends were sitting on the train. It wasn’t too crowded, so they could all sit together, but soon the train would be packed from the stops they had to make on the way. 

“I’m just worried. Nothing has ever attacked us before,” Yeonjun whispered. “You know?”

“But you don’t know that he’s been attacked,” Beomgyu pointed out. “Just that he’s been caught. And besides, we have been attacked before, we just don’t know what caused it. The Magic Island, remember?”

Suddenly the voice over came on, stating they had arrived at a station. Yeonjun glanced up at the monitor, but he already knew this wasn’t their stop. A group of people hurried on, taking up more spaces and making them all squish closer to each other. One man caught Yeonjun’s eye, since he seemed quite stylish and had a very unique look. He tilted his head a little as his gaze followed the stranger, and for a moment he felt something...almost like a spark of magic letting him know that the stranger had some sort of magic gift, too.

“Yeonjun?” Taehyun asked, but Yeonjun was too focused to respond to him.

He began to make his way through the crowded train to try and find that stranger. He heard the others asking him what he was doing, but he couldn’t respond right now. He saw the stranger sitting at the far end, on his phone and tapping away as if responding to a text message. Yeonjun knew it was rude to stare, he knew it was rude to intrude upon someone he didn’t know, but he felt like this man had an answer for him.

Yeonjun took hold of a bar across from the seated stranger, and he kept glancing at him until the stranger finally seemed to notice. 

“Why did you follow me?” the stranger asked as he finally looked up from his phone.

“How did you know?” Yeonjun questioned.

“Your hair is pretty bright,” the man smiled pleasantly. “Are you an idol going to school?”

“No, I just like to color my hair,” he responded. Ugh, what a boring response, he thought. Yeonjun was usually more witty than this, but he was too focused on Soobin’s plight to be witty right now. “Who are you?”

“A person on this train,” he responded. He was very vague, and it seemed to be on purpose. Yeonjun had a feeling that this man could sense the magic he had, as well. “Who are  _ you _ ?”

“Choi Yeonjun,” he responded calmly, with a quick bow of his head. “I need to find someone. Why do I have a feeling that you know where he is?”

The man had a surprised expression, but Yeonjun wondered if he was just putting it on as an act. “How would I know where this ‘someone’ is? I don’t even know you,” he pointed out. 

“You know things, like I do,” he said. “I know if I can sense...your magic...that you can sense that I’ve been chosen by magic, too.” his tone was low, but he was sure people who could hear him probably just thought he was insane. Most people had earbuds in their ears, listening to their own music and tuning out the cramped world of the train car. 

Finally the man just chuckled to himself and then his brown eyes met Yeonjun’s again. “I see,” he said. “We can’t talk here.”

“Why not?” Yeonjun urged. “What you’re saying is too vague for me to understand.”

“There’s a reason for that,” the man chided. He was obviously getting a bit tired of the banter in this public space. “I know something, and I’ll share it with you, but not here.” 

Yeonjun felt relief. This man had admitted to it! He knew something about Soobin! Or else, he knew something about where Soobin could be. He held tighter onto the bar and kept his eyes on the stranger as if he was afraid he might disappear.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The train stopped, and the man stood and even if Yeonjun knew this wasn’t their school stop he quickly followed him out, waving to the others to follow him. Beomgyu tugged on the back of Yeonjun’s sweater, making him glance back at his friend.

“Should we really be following a stranger in a creepy black trench coat?” Beomgyu asked softly.

“He has magic,” Taehyun whispered. “Can’t you sense it?”

“He knows something,” Yeonjun said. “Never mind about what he’s wearing.” 

“He knows something about Soobin?” Hueningkai asked as his eyes widened. He suddenly ran up to the stranger and walked alongside him. He gave a polite bow before speaking quickly, “You know about Soobin?”

The man looked at Hueningkai, then at the others who had tried to call Hueningkai back before he could say anything, to no avail. “I said we can’t talk here,” the man said simply.

“At least give us your name so we can begin to trust you,” Hueningkai suggested lightly. “My name is Hueningkai.” he bowed again.

The man shrugged a little. “Fine,” he said. “I’m Kim Taehyung. Now will you follow me quietly?”

“Yes,” Yeonjun said as he walked up next to Hueningkai and grabbed his arm to keep him from upsetting the stranger. “We’ll follow you quietly.”

Kim Taehyung nodded and continued to walk onwards. Yeonjun followed easily, and so did the others, but he could tell Taehyun was apprehensive about the entire thing, and even Beomgyu seemed a bit uncertain but he just held onto Hueningkai as they whispered to each other.

Yeonjun knew his friends might think he was reckless for following a stranger he saw on a train, but the magic followed them everywhere, and especially during school hours, it seemed. He knew better than to ignore someone that might be able to help, and he was curious about meeting another person who had some sort of magic. It would be interesting to see what he was capable of.

\-----

They eventually came to sit in an open and beautiful park. There were benches, and lots of people walking around, some people jogging, some people walking their dogs. It was lovely, and Yeonjun was glad it was still a public place. No one was going to pay attention to them as they stood around the man in the black trench coat while he sat on the bench and smiled at them. 

“So? What do you know about Soobin?” Beomgyu asked after a few minutes. 

“I don’t really know that name,” the man, Taehyung, admitted. “But I think you’re the ones I’m looking for, anyway.”

Hueningkai threw his hands in the air, obviously upset at the news. “He doesn’t even know Soobin,” he said sadly. 

“That doesn’t mean this is a dead end,” Yeonjun said quickly, and he looked back at Taehyung. “Excuse me, but what do you mean by that? What do you mean that we’re the ones you’re looking for?”

“Sounds a little ominous,” Taehyun said softly as he glanced at Yeonjun. 

“Well, I know about this doorway,” Taehyung said. “I know about the place you’re looking for. A friend of mine had a vision about you all. He said...he saw a group of lights that would help us open the door, and so it seems the magic has brought you to me. And me to you.”

They all exchanged looks, but no one seemed to know what to make of this man. Did he have magic friends as well? Yeonjun finally looked at Taehyung again. “What do you have to do with this place we’re looking for, then? Why are you looking for it as well?”

“We have a friend missing, just like you do,” Taehyung said in a low, solemn tone as he glanced down. “He has been missing for a month, and we haven’t had any luck retrieving him. We can open doors, but apparently this one is very difficult to find.” his gaze flicked back up to meet Yeonjun’s. “You four are the key, which may be why your friend was taken. Without your missing friend and your search for help, we might not have met and my friend could have remained in danger for much longer.”

“So, Soobin  _ was _ taken?” Taehyun gasped. “What’s behind all of this? Is it some enemy of yours?”

“It’s a long story,” Taehyung smiled a little. “Don’t you have school? We can talk about it after.”

“At this point we’re totally late, and school isn’t more important than Soobin,” Hueningkai said quickly. “Please, tell us everything.”

Taehyung looked at them, then he stood to his feet. “You’ll want to meet my other friends. I think they can honestly explain it better than me,” he chuckled. “It’s confusing, you know?”

Yeonjun bowed, and the others followed his example. “If it helps us save Soobin, then we’re willing to hear from your friends,” he said. But then he paused and looked back at the other three. “Wait. Do you guys want to do this? I don’t want to drag you into something you don’t want to do. Remember, we promised we’d be honest with each other from now on. Please, be honest with me.”

Hueningkai raised his hand. “I want to go! I want to save Soobin,” he said firmly. “Your dream sounded really scary. We can’t leave him there alone.”

“I want to go,” Beomgyu agreed with a nod. “Soobin always looks out for us. We have to look out for him.”

“He was just starting to get better, too,” Taehyun said softly. “Um...I’ll admit that I’m a little scared, but I think we should all go together. Mister Taehyung said that we’re all the keys to saving Soobin and his own friend, right? So...we should probably all go, even if we’re afraid.”

Yeonjun put a hand on Taehyun’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze to reassure him. “I’ll keep you all safe,” he insisted. “It’s my job as your older brother, right?” he smiled, and they all nodded and smiled back. 

Then he turned back to face Taehyung. “Take us to meet your friends. We’re ready.”

Taehyung smiled, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat. “I don’t think you’re ready, but don’t worry...we’ll keep you safe, too.” 

“What do you mean?” Beomgyu asked. 

“You’ll see. Come on.”


	3. Boys with Wings

They were brought to a nice house not far from the park where they had learned from Taehyung that he was a person who had magic, and had friends who also had magic, and was missing a friend in the same way that Soobin was missing. It was a strange turn of events, but the group was curious. 

Taehyun really wanted to know why they were ‘keys’ to this dark, creepy dungeon world where Soobin had ended up. How was Taehyung so sure about it, anyway? They had literally just met, and he got a strange sensation from the older man. Not a bad sensation, but he felt like their magic was more mature and perhaps they’d seen some awful things themselves. It...all just felt mysterious and he was honestly very uncomfortable, but he was doing his best to be brave.

The house was large and looked expensive as they walked inside. He wondered what Taehyung and his friends did for work, since it seemed they were very successful to be able to afford this.

The inside was definitely simple and warm looking, but it also looked like a house that was well lived in. There were dishes in the kitchen sink that he noticed as they walked by it, and the couch had unfolded blankets scattered across it. It had a cozy feeling, but Taehyun was still on edge. He could sense all the different people in this house, and he was sure they were aware of their arrival, as well. 

“Hold on,” Taehyung smiled and then tapped away on his phone. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and a few moments later the group could hear doors opening and footsteps coming towards the living room. Yeonjun stood protectively in front of his younger friends, but Hueningkai seemed the least nervous as he craned his neck to see who was coming.

Five more boys joined them in the living room. They were all tall and handsome, and clearly had their own charms. There was something charismatic about their energy as well, they were mature in their magic...whatever type of magic it was that they had. 

“Taehyung, who are these kids?” one man asked as he watched them with a suspicious expression. “Why are you bringing strangers into our house again?”

“They’re the ones from Jungkook’s vision!” Taehyung said enthusiastically as he gestured to Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai wildly. He clearly had a lot of energy now and wasn’t just being mysterious like he had been on the train. “They’re the keys! I know it. This one...Yeonjun, right? He came right up to me because he sensed my magic. They have some sort of magic, too.”

“And our friend is missing,” Hueningkai said as he stepped up next to Yeonjun. He bowed politely. “I’m Hueningkai. We do have magic, but...I don’t always understand it. It almost feels like the magic finds us most of the time, we don’t have to do much work.” he smiled at Yeonjun, as if hoping for some sort of approval.

Yeonjun smiled a little and patted his arm, and then looked back at the men. “We’re sorry to intrude, but our friend Soobin is missing. I had a dream about him being locked away in a dark hallway, but...we’ve never found a doorway on our own. We’ve opened doorways, but...it seems like even if we’re keys, we’re missing the ability to find doorways. They just pop up in front of us sometimes.” 

One boy with very fluffy long hair stepped over to where Taehyung was standing to get a good look at the newcomers. “He’s right,” he said after a moment, and then looked at Taehyung. “They are the keys.”

“The magic chose them, right?” a very handsome man said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose it’s like what happened to us. We all had our own trials to discover what we were capable of, and it made us stronger, right? Maybe this is going to make their magic stronger, too.” 

“I don’t know if this is what we wanted to happen to make us stronger,” Beomgyu muttered as he glanced down at the floor. “Please, just tell us what’s going on. We’re really in the dark here.”

“Oh, first! Let’s introduce ourselves. These poor kids are scared,” Taehyung chuckled. “You know me, and this is Jungkook and he has visions sometimes. At least, he’s the one that saw you four.”

“I saw five keys, but…” Jungkook shrugged. “I guess that must be the missing friend.” 

“I’m Kim Seok Jin, but my friends call me Jin,” the handsome man said pleasantly. “You can call me that, too, since it seems we’re going to be working together.” 

“Jung Hoseok,” the very gentle looking man said with a quick bow to them. “It’s really nice to finally meet you. I was starting to get a little scared, you know? But thankfully you’re here.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Yeonjun said. “Your friend has been missing for a month, right? I’m sorry. I can’t imagine not being able to reach Soobin for a month.” 

“Yes,” another man said as he stepped forward. He had a strong jaw, and looked very serious at this moment. “We’re not entirely sure what happened.” he glanced at the suspicious looking man standing next to him and spoke in a sarcastic tone. “Do we, Yoongi?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and glanced at him. “We don’t _entirely_ , Namjoon,” he replied, and then he looked back at the younger boys. “So, now what, then? We have the keys, what do we do? Begin our search for the door?”

“You haven’t even begun yet?” Taehyun asked with wide eyes. “Shouldn’t you have pinpointed a location if it’s been so long since your friend went missing?”

Yoongi grimaced and then folded his arms across his chest. “It’s complicated,” he said.

“But it’s not really,” Namjoon responded. “Our missing friend, Jimin, has changed his location a few different times when we have been looking for him. So...it’s been difficult to pinpoint an exact location.”

“Hold on,” Yeonjun held up his hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all, but we need to know what the actual story is here. How did your friend go missing in the first place, and why was Soobin dragged into this?” 

Jin gestured to the couch, and the four friends quickly sat down on it and watched nervously as the six men sat down on the other couch and chairs facing them. They all looked at each other, as if they were unsure of who was going to start speaking first. Finally, the man named Namjoon decided to take the reins and speak up first.

“We have been through a lot as friends, as I’m sure you four have been,” he began after clearing his throat. “But the one thing we all discovered is that...we have wings. It’s strange, but it’s part of our magic and it brought us together. The problem about our different abilities is we also experienced a lot of temptations and troubles. Sometimes we didn’t know if we were ever going to be able to come back together and work alongside each other.”

“We had some dark times,” Taehyung agreed. “But we always found each other again, and helped each other. I’m sure you’ve experienced some things like that. It seems that the magically gifted have to suffer through trials sometimes.” 

“But, Jimin always seemed to be doing well, you know? He always lifted our spirits when we were feeling at our lowest. I think because of that we didn’t realize how much he was struggling on his own,” Jungkook muttered. “I feel guilty about that.”

“We didn’t know, we can’t blame ourselves. We just have to find him,” Jin pointed out.

“Yoongi knew,” Namjoon said as he glanced at him. “They both went down a dark path, and we weren’t aware of it until it was too late to find Jimin.”

“A dark path?” Beomgyu asked.

Yoongi sighed and looked down. “We all make mistakes,” he said softly. “I made a big one, and Jimin came along with me. I got out of it, he didn’t, and he’s been lost to us ever since.”

“So...you’re telling us that your friend is behind this? Your friend caused all of this to happen? He took Soobin!?” Yeonjun exclaimed. 

“I’m sure he didn’t intend to do this! He’s not the type of person that hurts people,” Taehyung said quickly. He folded his hands in his lap and looked down. “Yoongi and Jimin were both looking for protective and healing measures after Hoseok…” he hesitated as he looked at his friend. “He got hurt by some dark magic, you know? So, they were trying to find a way to keep us all safe, but in doing so they went down a path of dark magic themselves.” 

“Jimin’s wings were black,” Hoseok said softly. “It was so eerie. That was the last time we saw him, and we haven’t been able to open a doorway that leads to him, although we’ve found evidence of magical places he has been before. And...I’m not sure why he took Soobin, but he really isn’t the type to hurt anyone. Maybe he was...maybe he thought your friend was looking for protective measures for all of you, and he felt like he could help. Maybe he needed an assistant since Yoongi stopped working with him.”

“He helped him by taking him away from us and putting him in a dungeon?” Hueningkai asked as he tilted his head. “That doesn’t seem particularly helpful. And why does he keep running away from you?”

“He’s looking for something,” Jungkook said as he ran his fingers through his wild, wavy hair. “Yoongi and Jimin learned about an ancient magical book that had many different types of spells in it. They believed they could find a spell to heal Hoseok, because...he was hurt very badly, you know? He was stuck in a hospital for a long time. Jimin had actually been hospitalized with him, but he recovered faster.” 

“He got really sick,” Taehyung said softly. “He had nightmares all the time.” he reached over to hold onto Hoseok’s hand, as if to comfort him. “But he came through it without any help from dark magic. He’s strong on his own, you know? But Jimin and Yoongi got too wrapped up in this artifact, and they didn’t notice things were fine.”

Yoongi shifted uncomfortably on the couch, and he kept staring at the floor. Hoseok looked at Yoongi and offered a small sad smile. “It’s okay,” he said. “I told you that you don’t need to feel guilty about this anymore. We’re gonna save Jimin.” 

“Yeah, and if we don’t? It’s on my head,” Yoongi finally got up to his feet and walked away without another word, back down the hallway towards his room. The sound of a door opening and then slamming shut was the last thing heard from him.

“It sounds like you’ve been through hard times,” Yeonjun said. “But we don’t know anything about this magical book, you know. If Jimin thinks Soobin knows about it, he’s wrong.”

“All five of you are the keys to these doorways. They open for you easily, right?” Namjoon suddenly spoke up. “Doorways appear for you and don’t even know how, I bet.”

“Mostly, yeah,” Taehyun agreed with a small nod.

“That proves your magical ability, being able to open doors,” Hoseok said with a smile. He always seemed to naturally want to smile, even if the circumstances seemed grim. “Jimin may have found a door he couldn’t open on his own. We’re good at finding and making doorways, remember? But we can’t always open them on our own. He might have hoped Soobin could open a door for him to find that magic book.” 

The four looked at each other, and then Beomgyu sighed and looked at them. “I have something to confess,” he said. “I’ve seen that book before. It has an old brown cover, right? With...a symbol on the front.”

“What!?” Yeonjun exclaimed as he looked at Beomgyu. “You’ve seen it!?”

“In a dream!” Beomgyu said quickly. “Not in real life. It was a dream. I...saw myself, or a version of myself, and I was trying to take it from a figure I couldn’t make out. I kept fighting this person, and they kept trying to take it from me. I hid it in my jacket...but then...horns sprouted out of my back...it scared me, and I woke up. I didn’t think it was that important, I thought it was just a nightmare.”

“So, they do have a connection to the book,” Taehyung said softly. “Didn’t I do a good job?”

“You did a great job,” Jin smiled and patted Taehyung’s knee before standing to his full height. He rested his hands on his hips and watched the younger boys. “We’ll need to eat before we plan our next move, I’d say. I’ll begin cooking.” he turned and walked into the kitchen without another word. He seemed to want to keep a light hearted spirit, despite the dire circumstances.

“Do you need any help?” Taehyun asked. “I feel bad not helping, since we’ve come here as strangers.” he stood to his feet and followed Jin into the kitchen. He wondered if he could perhaps find more information by talking to this man as he helped cook.

Yeonjun looked back at the others who remained. “Thank you for telling us as much as you can. I can’t say it all makes sense, but…” he glanced at Beomgyu. “I guess maybe we are attached to this book as well. We need to figure it out.” 

“We’ll do that,” Namjoon said with a firm nod. “Together we’ll use our abilities to find a solution.”

Yeonjun just hoped that solution would lead to a positive end, not some sort of nightmare like everything seemed to be right now.


	4. Doors and Keys

Jin was quite meticulous in the kitchen. He seemed to know exactly what to do, easily picking out what he wanted to put in the ramen was bubbling in the large pot. Taehyun walked over and peeked at the ramen, his own stomach rumbling aggressively with hunger when he smelled the delicious scent of seasoned, spicy ramen. 

“You must be hungry, hm? We’ve been talking so long, it certainly brings on an appetite,” Jin smiled pleasantly as he cut up some spicy peppers before adding them into the ramen. He stirred it with care, taking a sip of the broth and grinning at his own creation. 

“Yeah,” Taehyun said with a small nod. “So, you all have magic wings?”

Jin blinked and glanced at him, then shrugged. “Yeah, I guess,” he said. “They just kinda look like angel wings. But they’re pretty cool.”

“Do you have any individual powers?” Taehyun kept asking. He felt like he wanted more answers about who these men were than just about the rescue mission at hand. 

“Of course,” Jin said. “We all have our own talents. I’d say my talent is cooking~”

“I’m being serious,” Taehyun said with a small pout.

Jin smiled and shrugged. “So am I,” he said. “Fine, then, what’s your special talent?”

Taehyun scratched the back of his neck. “I’m very in tune with magic. I can sense it really easily, sometimes I can even see it if I close my eyes,” he said. “It’s always around me.” 

Jin nodded. “Ahh, cool,” he said. “So, you’re extra sensitive. Kinda sounds like Yoongi, or Hoseok. I know Yoongi might not seem like it, but he’s pretty sensitive under that hard shell. Hoseok is obviously a kind person, and he’s very sensitive to energy and stuff.” 

“Okay, so what about you? You must have some sort of magic,” Taehyun said.

“Magic isn’t always obvious,” he said as he stirred the ramen again. “I think my magic has always been subtle. I bring people together, you know? I use my charms to keep my friends from losing their minds. Even if it drives them crazy, I think that’s my magic. Keeping my friends sane when things around us are falling apart.”

“That’s a very important power,” Taehyun said. “Kinda sounds like Yeonjun. He’s a good leader when things get tough. But...but Soobin…” he sighed softly. “Soobin brought us together. Without him it feels like we’re totally missing the most important piece. You know?”

“Hmmm,” Jin hummed. “Namjoon is a leader for us. I know he seems tough, but he’s just been upset about this whole situation, and he was disappointed in Jimin and Yoongi for going down a dark path without even asking us for help. We’ve all been through hard times, even Namjoon experienced homelessness before, you know? But we thought we had overcome all those things, because we had each other. The fact that those two decided to do their own thing, and a very dangerous thing...it made him so sad.” 

“I understand,” Taehyun said. “Our friend group almost fell apart about a month ago because we had...dealt with some traumatic things and couldn’t communicate with each other about it. It was a scary time.” 

“I guess all magical people have to deal with upsetting things,” Jin said as he turned off the heat under the ramen, beginning to ladle it out into bowls for everyone. “But you came out of it stronger, right?”

“I thought so,” Taehyun said. “Now I’m not so sure.”

“Why not? Do you think Soobin left you on purpose?” Jin asked.

“He must have walked into that doorway willingly,” Taehyun said. “Even if he’s trapped there now, I don’t think he would have been dragged in. You said your friend isn’t the type to hurt people, so he must have convinced Soobin to go to that dark place. Although he did leave his phone behind, so I’m not so sure. It’s just...a feeling, I guess.” 

Jin tilted his head, setting a bowl aside and looking at the younger boy. “Sometimes good people make stupid choices,” he said. “It doesn’t mean he’s lost to you, it just means we have to pull him back from that place. A month ago you dealt with something sad, so I know it’s hard to deal with another hard thing so soon after, but life is full of trials. You just have to find the good in the midst of it all. The good thing so far? You met us, and we met you. Maybe together we can give each other more strength than we would have ever had on our own.” 

Taehyun couldn’t help but smile when he said that. He nodded and then placed the ramen bowls on a tray so he could easily carry them out to the others who were still talking. “I think I can see what you mean when you say your magic is about bringing people together,” he said. “Your encouragement has really lifted my spirits as well. I feel like...you’re right. There was a purpose behind all of this.” 

“I’m glad you think so. I could tell you were having trouble trusting us,” Jin winked. “Don’t worry. I promise we only want to help, we don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Taehyun did believe that after talking with Jin, and really feeling the energy around him and the others. Yoongi’s energy was the only one he couldn’t read, but that made sense since he seemed so cold and closed off. He was afraid of the actions he had allowed to happen and how they would impact the future of his friends. Taehyun could understand that fear. 

\-----

The group sat around the low table in the center of the room, most of the bowls were completely empty of the ramen that had once been within, but Hueningkai was still working on his final portion. Jin kept commenting on how he was impressed at their appetites, and that the youngest should want to eat the most so he can grow up well. Beomgyu was impressed how kind these older boys were, despite the fact that they had only met a few hours before.

He did feel a little apprehensive, that perhaps their interest was only because of their ability to open doors and perhaps once all was said and done this alliance would be over, but he knew that was a rather silly thought to have. Both groups could benefit each other if they stayed together even after saving their friends. He just couldn’t help but feel nervous about this whole thing, and with his dream being brought back into all of this...well, he had hoped he could just forget that dream, honestly. It had given him goosebumps. 

“So, how do we find the doorway?” Beomgyu asked. “We have to do this quickly, right? Before your friend decides to move them somewhere else.”

“Well, that’s kind of my job,” Taehyung chuckled. “I’m good at finding things. Obviously.” he gestured to them and smiled. “Hoseok is really good at picking up big bursts of energy, which usually indicate a doorway appearing as well, so we’ll work together through the night until we find a doorway that could lead us to Jimin and Soobin.”

“Ah,” Yeonjun sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “So, we’ll have to meet up again tomorrow.” 

“You’re welcome to stay here,” Hoseok said with a small smile. “But you’re young enough to be in high school, right? I’m sure you all have families that would worry if you stayed with strangers.”

“Yeah,” Hueningkai nodded. “We’re grateful you fed us and everything, but I know I can’t stay here.” 

“I can,” Beomgyu said as he looked up to meet the gazes of the older boys. “I live alone.”

“Are you sure you want to, Beomgyu? Maybe I should stay, too. I can just tell my parents I’m staying with friends,” Yeonjun said. “I’m older, so they expect me to be around my friends more often.”

“No, I’ll be okay,” Beomgyu said with a small smile. “I don’t feel any threat here. Besides, I’m capable of taking care of myself, too. I’m doing a lot better. And, I’m the one with the dream. Maybe we can try and interpret it together.”

“If you’re sure,” Yeonjun said cautiously. Then he glanced at Taehyun and Hueningkai. “We should go, then. So much time has passed since we came here, even if it feels like we’ve only been here a few minutes.”

“This place is kinda magical like that,” Hoseok chuckled softly. “I’ll walk you three back to the train station, at least. Come on.” he stood to his feet and headed to the doorway. Yeonjun and Hueningkai got to their feet and followed easily, each one patting Beomgyu’s shoulder in a comforting way, but Taehyun seemed to hesitate.

“I’m gonna be fine, Taehyunnie,” Beomgyu said as he reached over to pinch his friend’s cheek playfully. “Just go home. You know your mom will worry.”

Taehyun made a face as his cheek was pinched, but then he sighed and leaned over to give him a hug. “Just call us if anything happens,” he said softly. “Okay?”

Beomgyu blinked, and he wondered if Taehyun sensed trouble. He was always very good at sensing things like that, even before they happened. Beomgyu just patted his back and leaned away from the hug. “I promise I’m going to be fine, but thank you,” he smiled. Taehyun finally nodded and got to his feet, bowing politely to the elder boys and giving a wave to Jin before finally following the others. 

“Your friends really care about you,” Namjoon said. “That’s good. You must be something special.”

Beomgyu blinked and then shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said shyly. 

“Why do you live alone?” Jin asked. “You’re young like them, you shouldn’t be on your own.”

“I’m from Daegu,” Beomgyu said with a small shrug. “I guess you missed my accent, but...I have my own apartment while I’m going to school here.”

“Ahhh,” Jungkook clapped his hands. “Yoongi is from Daegu! I’m from Busan. So is Jimin.” he sighed softly and then smiled a little. “Maybe you and Yoongi can bond over being from the same place.”

“Ah,” Beomgyu wasn’t entirely sure he was up to the task of bonding with that very suspicious and sad man, but maybe that could be his purpose in all of this. If he managed to befriend Yoongi, he might get more answers about where Jimin and Soobin were. “Maybe.”

“Don’t intimidate him,” Namjoon said as he rose to his feet. “Taehyung, make sure you and Hoseok work hard on locating that doorway when he gets back, okay?” 

Taehyung gave a playful salute and then stood up and smiled at Beomgyu. “Let me get you some blankets and stuff…” then he paused and looked at the couch. “Oh, actually, that couch has plenty of blankets. Do you want me to get you extra pillows? I know it’s not night time, or anything, but...I just want you to be comfortable.”

“I’m really fine,” Beomgyu said with a polite smile. Taehyung gave a nod and then walked off to wherever his room was. Beomgyu hoped he would be able to locate the doorway quickly. He even wished they could find it tonight. 

Jungkook was the last one in the room now, as Namjoon had gone off somewhere and Jin was in the kitchen cleaning. He seemed to want to talk, but perhaps he didn’t know where to start the conversation. 

“Why did you leave Busan?” Beomgyu finally asked as he hugged his knees into his chest. 

Jungkook blinked, and then he shrugged. “Probably the same reason as you,” he said. “Seoul had more opportunities for me. I wanted to go to school here. Isn’t that what you wanted? Opportunity?”

“Yes,” Beomgyu admitted. “But more than that, I was tired of being alone in the world, I think. I wanted to know if other people had magic like me. I found that here, very unexpectedly. I’m grateful, though.”

“You knew you had magic from a young age, huh?” Jungkook smiled. 

“Yeah, I’ve always known. My parents knew, too, but I don’t think they knew what to do with me,” Beomgyu said with a small shrug. “I could just...make things happen sometimes. Usually small things, but it was still enough for me to notice. What about you? Did you always know you had magic?”

Jungkook scratched his head. “I dunno,” he said. “I think maybe to some extent I knew I was special. Almost everything I did in life was very easy for me, you know? ‘Natural talent’ was what everyone told me, but I think it’s a bit more than that. I think that’s how magic manifests in me.” he smiled a bit. “But I don’t like to brag on myself too much. It’s kinda awkward, right?”

“Did you all meet in school as well?” Beomgyu asked.

“I’m quite a bit younger,” Jungkook said. “Taehyung and Jimin were in high school with me, but the other boys were in different schools, and Jin was even preparing for college at the time. Somehow...we all connected with each other through random events. I suppose they really weren’t random, but it felt strange.” he chuckled. “We all connected through various friendships we had, and then as we got to know each other we realized how many hardships we all had, and how much we had in common. When we helped each other, our power grew. Then we realized we needed to stay with each other and learn what our powers really were, so we could continue to grow it, you know? It felt too special to ignore.” 

Beomgyu smiled. He did know what that felt like. When he found his friends, he knew he wanted to stay with them, and never leave them. He knew life might have different plans for them once adulthood hit, but these guys were adults and they still managed to stay together. Maybe that could be their future, too.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “It’s too special to ignore.” he sighed and rested his chin on his knees as he continued to hug them into his chest. “I hope Soobin’s okay. I hope he knows we’re coming.”

“I’m sure he does,” Jungkook said with a small nod. “Is he quite powerful with his magic?” 

“He’s...easily affected by magic,” Beomgyu said as he lifted his head again. “After the last incident we had, two years ago, he’s had a weird ringing in his ears. I think the magic calls to him even more than anyone else, which is why I see him as the leader of our group.” he sighed softly. “But I think he needs more protection than all of us, too. He gets hurt so easily. He hasn’t been himself since the day we found this Magic Island. We all got hurt there.” 

“We haven’t been to an Island, I don’t think,” Jungkook hummed thoughtfully. “But we’ve been to some weird places. I...don’t know if I can even describe all of it well anymore.” he chuckled sheepishly. “I guess I don’t have to. We’ve all been places that we want to forget, right?”

“Yeah,” Beomgyu agreed. 

“Well, I better go and see if the others need me to do anything,” Jungkook slowly got to his feet. “Are you going to be okay here? You can always bother Jin or Namjoon if you’re too bored.”

“I’m fine,” Beomgyu said with a polite bob of his head. 

Jungkook smiled and walked out of the room after that. Beomgyu did feel like he didn’t want to sit alone. He wanted to be as productive as everyone else in this house was being. They were working hard to find Jimin and Soobin, and he wasn’t going to sit around idly. 

And for some reason he really did feel drawn to talk to Yoongi now. They had a common ground, both being from Daegu, and even if he was well aware that wasn’t going to be enough to make a connection with someone as wounded as Yoongi seemed to be, he was going to do his best to talk to him. He needed to know more about the book he had seen in his dream, and what it might mean if Jimin actually found it before they found him. 

He stood to his feet and walked down the hallway that had two doors on each side. At the end of the hallway was a staircase that led down, probably to more rooms or another living space of some sort, and he realized he wasn’t even really sure where Yoongi had gone. He sighed and closed his eyes and began to reach out with every bit of magical ability he had to sense that cold energy he had felt around Yoongi before. 

Downstairs. He must have had a lower level room. He quickly made his way to the end of the hall and down the stairs. There was a large open space that seemed to be a game room, with a TV and Playstation game system attached to it, along with a table tennis table at the other end of the room. He took this in for a moment and thought that was pretty cool, and this place seemed expensive, and then he directed his attention to the room with the coldest energy. 

He began to approach, but then he paused and realized there was another room down here. He slowly approached and touched the door to the room that didn’t belong to Yoongi, and he suddenly felt a vision flash through his mind;

_ “Don’t talk to me like that, Taehyung,” a young man exclaimed. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and his expression was rather irritable. “I know what I’m doing.” _

_ “You’re not acting like yourself, Jimin,” Taehyung said. “You never go to the studio anymore, you’re totally focused on this weird book hunt with Yoongi. I just don’t understand why it’s so important? Didn’t Jin say it was a cursed artifact? He did research on it-” _

_ “It’s not cursed,” Jimin said quickly. “He’s just afraid of what we could be capable of if we found it. It could help Hoseok get back to normal faster. Why doesn’t anyone want that except for me and Yoongi?” _

_ “We do want that, but Hoseok is recovering quickly,” Taehyung said. He had a worried expression. “He doesn’t want you to do all of this.” _

_ “He still has nightmares, he still suffers,” Jimin said. “I watched him for days in that hospital. You remember? We were there together, suffering with our nightmares and everyone thinking we were insane when...when we’d really just been touched by dangerous magic. But you can’t explain that to normal people, can you? They just call you crazy and feed you pills.” _

_ “But you recovered, so Hoseok will, too,” Taehyung said.  _

_ “How do you know that I’ve recovered, huh? I can function now, but maybe I still suffer from nightmares,” Jimin said. “And if we can’t expect this normal world to save us, we need to rely on whatever magic is out there to do that. So, I’m going to do what I can. You don’t have to follow.” _

_ “Jimin!” Taehyung grabbed Jimin’s arm as he tried to walk away. “Please, don’t do this. I have a bad feeling.” _

_ Jimin pulled his arm away and glanced back at Taehyung. “Stop worrying. I can’t let everyone hold me back when I’m trying to do something important to save others. Maybe one day having this magical book will save you. Ever thought of that?”  _

__ The vision faded and Beomgyu found himself just staring at the door to the room that seemed to belong to Taehyung and Jimin. He blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eyes as the vision continued to fade.

“What are you doing here?” Yoongi’s voice suddenly spoke behind him.

Beomgyu jumped and turned quickly, looking at the other with wide eyes. “Ah,” he bowed quickly. “I just…”

“What did you see?” Yoongi asked as realization came over him. “You look like you’ve seen something.”

Beomgyu slowly met his gaze. “I saw a vision of Jimin.” 

Yoongi hesitated, then turned and gestured to his room. “Come in. I think we need to talk.” 


	5. Dark Paths

_ Soobin opened his eyes slowly, hearing the sound of footsteps running towards the cell where he was now. He imagined the footsteps belonged to his captor, but to his surprise he saw a shock of yellow hair in the torch light and he realized it was Yeonjun. _

_ “Yeonjun!?” he exclaimed. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed hold of the bars of the cell, but then the bars disappeared and the whole dungeon scene seemed to melt away. Soobin stood with confusion as he tried to find his friend, but he was standing on a pile of rubble now...it was as if the entire dungeon had been destroyed. _

_ “Soobin?” that familiar voice he missed so much spoke, and Soobin looked up to see Yeonjun standing on the highest point of the rubble. Taehyun, Hueningkai and Beomgyu all stood nearby, too, and he felt relieved to see them, but he was also afraid. What were they doing here? Were they okay? _

_ “Yeonjun,” Soobin said as he started to approach him, but then he stopped and looked down at his hands as he realized he was holding something. He had a brown book in his hand with a mysterious insignia on the front. He could feel the magic practically leaking out of the book, and he could tell it was very powerful. But why did he have it? Wasn’t this the book Jimin was looking for? _

_ “Yeonjun, I...I have this. It’s supposed to have protective magic spells inside it,” Soobin said as he held the book out to him, but to his shock and horror as his best friend turned around he had blood all across his face and his eyes looked dead. “Yeonjun!?” _

Soobin startled awake, and immediately began taking in his surroundings. What was that dream? The image of Yeonjun was burned into his mind. He started to wonder if it was a warning, if Yeonjun and the others were looking for him and were already hurt or lost in their endeavors. Would he be too late to save them? Had he put them in danger by coming to this place?

He blinked a couple of times and slowly got to his feet, walking up to the rusty bars and holding onto them as he looked out at the now lit torches that lined the hallway, and then he saw the shadow of his approaching captor. 

Jimin was a bit shorter than him, but he was fierce and appeared very determined. Soobin could feel that faint ringing in his ears whenever he came close, so he knew magic was strong with him, and perhaps it wasn’t good magic. 

“Are you ready to listen to me?” Jimin asked as he stood in front of the bars with his arms folded across his chest. “I don’t want to keep you in these sorts of accommodations, but I don’t want you to run away.”

“I wouldn’t even know how to run away,” Soobin admitted. “But...I don’t want to participate in this dangerous task. I’m sorry. I just…” he paused as he thought about the dream, and he wondered if he should consider Jimin’s words after seeing that. “I just don’t know.” 

“I thought you wanted to protect your friends,” Jimin said. He wore dark clothes, a leather belt cinching in his waist to show how small he was. His size didn’t matter, though, Soobin knew he was strong despite his stature. “That’s why the doorway opened in front of you, to give you this offer of protection for all you hold dear.”

Soobin glanced aside. “That is what I want,” he said. “But it sounds dangerous from what you told me, and I’m afraid of hurting them.” He was afraid they were already hurt.

Jimin shook his head, but he reached down and pulled a key off of his belt and used it to unlock the cell. He pulled open the loud, creaking door and gestured for him to walk out. “Let me show you some things before you make a decision,” he said. “Come on. I think I can change your mind.”

Soobin wasn’t so sure, but he wanted to learn more about this place so he just nodded and followed Jimin down the hallway. Eventually they came to a large stone staircase and they began to ascend. Soobin kept looking around, flinching occasionally when that ringing got louder for a moment or two, but it always faded away to a dull noise that he could ignore. All he knew for certain was that there was something powerful here, and he was a bit afraid of it. He wished he hadn’t come here, but now he couldn’t stop thinking about Yeonjun’s bloody face.

Jimin finally brought him into a massive room that was nearly devoid of any furnishings or anything interesting to look at. Soobin kept glancing around, he could sense something strange here, but he couldn’t see anything. 

Jimin brought him to the farthest end of the room where a strange stone table sat. The sound of thunder rumbling outside could be heard, but Soobin kept his focus on the stone table that seemed to have weird symbols carved into the side of it. 

“This is an old place, you know? It’s an ancient magical place,” Jimin said as he looked back at Soobin. “It took me a long time to find it, but I think you’ve been here before.”

Soobin’s brow furrowed, but then his eyes widened. “Is this...the Magic Island?” suddenly the sound of the thunder was all too familiar, and the shrieking sound of a dragon could be heard even above that noise. He did remember this place, and maybe that’s why his ear wouldn’t stop ringing. Anxiety started to rise up in his chest, making the ringing worse, but he took a deep breath and tried to settle his heart. He couldn’t be frightened right now, he had to be strong. He had to get out of here.

“This place brings you fear?” Jimin asked. “Perhaps because you didn’t get to reach your full potential last time you were here.”

“This place isn’t safe,” Soobin said urgently. “We have to get out of here.”

“It was unsafe for you because you had no control of your magic, and had no idea about magical places or magical objects,” Jimin said calmly. “I can teach you what you need to know. This is the place where we will find a magical book that will change everything for both of us. We’ll be able to protect all of our friends.”

“No,” Soobin said. “Things happen unexpectedly here. It’s really not safe.”

“Just trust me,” Jimin said with a sigh. “I’ve done a lot of research about this place. We have to find the book, and we’ll do that safely. If you don’t trust me, you can stay in that cell until I find it. I can’t have you ruining all my hard work, you know.” 

Soobin frowned, but he realized he was going to have to face his fears in order to have any chance of getting out of here. There weren't any magical doorways that he had seen upon the walk up to this strange magical ritual room, but he had to hope one would find him as long as he kept following Jimin around. He didn’t want to be here without his friends, but he had no choice.

And there was a part of him that kept replaying that dream and he considered that perhaps the book was important if he had dreamed about it. Maybe he was right about trying to find it after all.

“Fine,” Soobin said. “I’ll follow you. Let’s find the book.”

“Good,” Jimin smiled. “Then all we have to do is bring it back here and place it on this stone table. This old stone table is filled with ancient magic, you know? It’ll allow us to unlock the book. I don’t think we’d be able to do it without this.”

Soobin leaned away from the table, he didn’t want to touch it if it was filled with old magic that he didn’t understand. This place was too dangerous, and he didn’t want to get hurt again. “I see,” he looked at Jimin. “Then...we should go, right?”

“Don’t be afraid,” Jimin cooed. “I’m here.” and with that he turned and began walking back towards the stairs that had brought them to this room. Soobin hurried to follow, glancing back once at that stone table. 

He had a very bad feeling about all of this.

\----

Beomgyu sat down on a chair awkwardly as he watched Yoongi sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen as he seemed to be searching for something. Yoongi had invited him in here to talk, but it didn’t seem like they were going to do any talking. 

“I heard you’re from Daegu,” Beomgyu suddenly spoke up to break the silence. He couldn’t help it, he felt like he had to break the ice here. “I’m from...Daegu, too.” 

“Mhm,” Yoongi dismissed that conversation starter immediately, which made Beomgyu sigh and shrink in his chair. Suddenly Yoongi swirled around in his desk chair and faced him. “Tell me about your vision.”

Beomgyu blinked. He’d thought that Yoongi had completely forgotten about this incident, even if it had happened only minutes prior. “Oh, um,” he scratched his head. “I saw a vision of Jimin arguing with Taehyung about what he was doing; about finding the book. He seemed really determined to protect all of you, but I think he was really just scared.” 

Yoongi sighed and looked down at his lap. Beomgyu thought Yoongi seemed so sad as well. “He had a really bad experience,” he muttered. “I dunno if I can even explain what happened.”

“Just try to,” Beomgyu said, “I think I need to understand more what happened to you and Jimin, and about this book I’ve seen in my dreams.”

“You saw the book before?” Yoongi’s brow furrowed.

“Oh, right, you weren’t there when I mentioned this,” Beomgyu nodded. “Yes, I had a vision about that book before. I had a vision about...myself taking it from someone. I was trying to keep it away...but I...grew horns out of my back and then I woke up. I dunno what it means, but I want to know more about that book.” 

Yoongi watched him quietly for a moment, then rested his head back on the headrest of his chair. He stared up at the ceiling for another long moment before speaking. “All of us were on a mission,” he said. “We had a goal to get rid of these figures cloaked in black that had been harassing us for a long time. They knew about our magic and wanted to destroy us, and they were powerful magical figures themselves. When we were young, I thought I could befriend these cloaked figures, but in the end they were wicked and they wanted to see our demise, so we learned to get stronger with our magic because of their constant pursuit.”

“You learned because you had to protect yourselves from weird magical stalkers? That’s pretty creepy,” Beomgyu said softly.

“We were reckless when we were younger and we often ran into trouble without even realizing we were running into trouble,” Yoongi smiled a little. “But eventually we had no choice but to face these enemies we’d made.”

Beomgyu felt like he was sitting on the edge of his seat, he leaned forward a little so he wouldn’t miss even a word. “What happened?”

“We got surrounded one time when we tried to battle them,” Yoongi sighed. “I don’t know what happened. We were fighting in an open space, but we were exhausted and our magic wasn’t working as well because of our exhaustion. So, we made the choice to run for it. Namjoon made a doorway, and we ran towards it...but…” he shook his head. “Their magic was strong. It was like bullets hit us, but it was magic...very powerful dark magic.”

“But you survived,” Beomgyu said. He wondered if their experience was similar at all to what they had felt on the Magic Island, but that hadn’t been a specific enemy they were fighting. There were no figures in black hoods there, just a strange train and a loud wind. 

“Yeah,” Yoongi agreed. “Thanks to Jungkook. He was quick on his feet, and as the last one standing with his magic he managed to use what little energy he had to repel our enemies and he got us all through the doorway. Unfortunately, Jimin and Hoseok had been affected the most by the dark magic that had hit them and they had to be hospitalized. I’m sure you’ve heard this part.”

“Right,” Beomgyu nodded.

“Anyway, Jimin recovered but Hoseok took a lot longer. He’s much more sensitive to magic and magical energy, so it really caused him a lot of pain. At that point, I had already started to research magical artifacts that might help channel our magic and make us stronger, and also help to heal Jimin and Hoseok,” Yoongi scratched the back of his neck. “I found out about this old book. It’s an old magical book, full of spells of all kinds to help in different ways. I told Jin about it, and he looked into it. He learned it was a cursed artifact that had been sealed away years ago because of its tendency to unlock dark magic, but that didn’t stop me from looking into how to find it.”

“But...you knew,” Beomgyu said softly. “Why would you do something that could put you in more danger? And how did you even find out about it?”

“I have a lot of connections in the magical underworld, I guess,” Yoongi shrugged. “I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but I wanted a solution for my friends. I felt like I would be fine and the claims about the book had been exaggerated, anyway. Well, Jimin got healthy and he heard about my project and he asked to help. I needed the help, so...I let him.”

“He got really invested in it, huh?” Beomgyu said.

“Mhm,” Yoongi hummed. “I started to see that he was changing. He was obsessed with it, and I suddenly realized it wasn’t a good idea. We went on trip through a doorway to a different world together to try to find the book, but it was such a dangerous world that we both almost suffered...severe consequences. Once we escaped and got back home, I told him that we had to stop and I wasn’t going to continue looking for the book. He got mad at me, and he disappeared a week later.” he pursed his lips together and then looked at Beomgyu. “We all tried to talk some sense into him. Even Hoseok, who was finally home from the hospital, tried to talk to him about this. He just...couldn’t stop. He needed to find the book.”

Beomgyu sighed and leaned back in his chair. “And now he’s got Soobin wrapped up in this,” he said. “I don’t think Soobin would fall for such a dangerous thing, but maybe because he’s been so worried about us...it might tempt him.” 

“It’s a magical artifact that is indeed cursed, and it wants to be unlocked and used,” Yoongi said. “That’s why it attracts people. I don’t know how to rescue Jimin from this, really, but I have to hope we can still do it.”

“What if he’s still tempted by the book even when you bring him back?” Beomgyu asked.

“We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Yoongi glanced aside. “Jimin is strong, though. He could stand against the temptation if he wanted to, but his fear for us...that’s making him weaker. He’s afraid of losing us, just like we’re afraid of losing him. We can’t lose him…”

“You won’t,” Beomgyu said firmly. “Just like we won’t lose Soobin.”

Yoongi looked up at him, but suddenly a loud knock at the door and then the door burst open and Hoseok leaned in. He seemed breathless, his eyes were bright. “We found a doorway!” he exclaimed. “Taehyung and I found a doorway! We have to go!”

The two jumped to their feet, and Beomgyu seemed surprised that it hadn’t taken too long. He was grateful, but he wasn’t sure what to do. “What about my friends? They all went home!” he asked.

“We’ll get them,” Hoseok said with a smile. “We’re gonna need their help to open it, but we don’t have time to waste.” and then he rushed away.

Beomgyu and Yoongi quickly followed, soon reuniting with all the other boys in the house as they were all grabbing their jackets and pulling on their shoes. Beomgyu felt his heart pounding, he was nervous about facing Soobin after all that Yoongi had told him. What if Jimin had managed to convince Soobin of the importance of the book? What if he was also wrapped up in the dark magic? 

He really hoped when they found him, he would still be the same Soobin...but he was starting to think that things weren’t going to be that simple. 

Nothing ever was.


	6. Magic Island

Sneaking out of his house after receiving the text from Beomgyu that a doorway had been found and they were all going to be needed to open it wasn’t exactly easy. Hueningkai was still young, and his parents didn’t want him to be out when it was so dark and all that. But he had a mission to save Soobin, his precious friend, and he knew he couldn’t let his concerns about what his parents might think get in the way of that.

Besides, most magical travels to other places seemed to freeze time anywhere else. His parents probably wouldn’t even notice his absence.

He slipped out his room and to the door where he slipped on his shoes. He took extra care to open the door silently, although the door alarm gave a little chime which made him cringe, but no one came and he managed to close the door just as quietly and once again the door alarm seemed to be ignored. 

He was free. Now it was go time! 

He met the rest of them not far down the road. It was very strange to have such a big crowd this time, but he was happy about it. He felt like they would need the extra help. 

“Hey! What do we do?” Hueningkai asked excitedly. He knew they were going to find Soobin, he was so ready for this nightmare to be over. 

“It’s this way, follow us,” Taehyung said as he waved his arm. The group quickly rushed after him and Hoseok as they led the way to the apparent doorway that would lead them to Soobin and Jimin.

“How are you feeling?” Yeonjun asked Hueningkai as they hurried down the small streets.

“Ready,” Hueningkai answered with confidence. “We can do anything together, right?”

Yeonjun just smiled and nodded at his friend. Jin looked over and gave a quick thumbs up. “I like your optimism,” he said. “We’re gonna need that in here.”

Hueningkai gave a thumbs up back, feeling a bit shy interacting with the elder, but he thought they were all very nice. They had fed them, explained things to them, and even though there was still a lot of mystery regarding this whole situation, he trusted them. It helped that Yeonjun and the others also showed trust for these newcomers. 

They turned down a sharp alleyway, and it led to what appeared to be a dead end. Hueningkai looked at the older boys for guidance, but they didn’t seem concerned by the brick wall before them. Hoseok approached with confidence, and an expression of determination. He reached out towards the wall, and upon placing his hand on it an outline of a door appeared like a bright light.

The others gasped in amazement, and Hueningkai clapped his hands. He couldn’t help it, it was too exciting to see something like this happen! Taehyung and Hoseok had actually created a doorway, or at least found one that had been hidden.

“You four, come here,” Taehyung called out to them. Yeonjun, Taehyun, Beomgyu, and Hueningkai quickly stepped up to the door. They knew hesitating would waste precious time, and they had never been ones to hesitate before a magical door, anyway. “You’re the keys, so please open the doorway we’ve found.” 

“How do you know it’ll lead to Soobin?” Yeonjun asked. 

“We don’t know for certain, but the magic hasn’t let us down when we’ve followed it before,” Hoseok said. “We just have to trust it.” 

Hueningkai reached out to the door. “We can do it,” he said. “We have to believe Soobin is gonna be there.” the others nodded and all reached for the door.

In doing so the door actually formed. Instead of just being an outline, it became a real door in the dead end of the alleyway. Namjoon gave a quiet, “Yes!” in response to seeing the door form, and even the others seemed very pleased. The magic was working, and now they could go through.

Yeonjun didn’t hesitate, as was often the case, and he pulled the door open and hurried into the landscape. Hueningkai knew Yeonjun did this because he wanted to make sure the area was safe before the rest of them came through, he was always thinking like that, but the others followed quickly behind.

They stood in silence as they took in the strange, broken landscape around them. The sky above was dark and torn apart by constant lightning, and the shriek of a dragon could be heard in the distance. They stood on rubble, as if they were in a warzone, and suddenly Hueningkai was even more terrified for Soobin.

“We’re back,” Taehyun whispered in a horrified voice.

“Back? What do you mean?” Yoongi asked as he stood alongside the younger boys. “Do you know this place?”

Hueningkai took a moment to swallow his fear. “Yes,” he said. “It’s the Magic Island.” 

\----

Soobin’s eyes shifted back and forth quickly as Jimin led him through a deep forest. This reminded him exactly of their last visit to this place; where he and his friends had a bonfire and celebrated their new found freedom right before it all fell apart and everything changed. Right before the magic had shown them how unpredictable and dangerous it was. 

“You must have had a very bad experience here,” Jimin said without slowing down or looking back. “I can practically feel your anxiety. What exactly happened to you?”

Soobin sighed and shook his head. “I don’t really want to talk about it,” he said softly. “But we ran into some really bad magic here and almost...I don’t know. I thought we were going to die.”

Jimin glanced back at him when he said that, and then he nodded. “Seems like the fate of those who have magic,” he said. “We attract evil magic as much as we attract good, but the evil magic...it scars you for life, it feels like.” 

“Is that what happened to you?” Soobin asked as he tilted his head a little. He knew Jimin wanted to protect his friends at any cost, but he realized he had no idea what had brought about this motivation to find this dangerous book. “You got scarred by magic?”

“Yes,” Jimin nodded. His gaze kept roving around the forest as he kept his eyes on the overgrown trail they were following that would apparently lead them to the hiding place of this book. “Evil magic has almost killed me and my friends too many times for me to count, and I’m tired of feeling so weak. I can’t let it happen again.”

“Killed you?” Soobin repeated softly. “How?”

“We had enemies,” Jimin said. “Honestly, they’re probably still alive somewhere. Dark, cloaked figures that have hunted us down. There was a time we thought we could learn from them, but we were wrong, and when we realized that we had to fight them because they were wicked and ready to destroy us…” he shook his head. “They took almost all of us down and left myself and my friend Hoseok so sick we had to be hospitalized.”

“Oh…” Soobin’s eyes widened. He’d never experienced anything like that with his friends, and he hoped he never would. He never wanted to meet other magical humans with wicked magic. He wasn’t sure he could fight such a thing. He had no real experience using magic in that way, he just used his magic to run through doorways, really. 

“I got physically healthy faster than Hoseok, but the nightmares have never left me,” Jimin said as he turned sharply through the forest to continue following the path. “Come on, hurry up.”

“Are you doing this because your friend is still sick?” Soobin asked as he kept close to him and stepped over some bushes that had taken over much of the path.

“Hoseok got better, but if he still has nightmares like I do then he’s still suffering,” Jimin said. “I want to help him, and I want to make sure nothing happens to anyone else.” 

Soobin felt sympathy towards Jimin as he heard him speak. This made sense to him why he would be so obsessed with this book now, and perhaps this book would help them both protect their friends in some way, but he was afraid that the magic in this book might not be all good. 

“What kind of nightmares do you have?” Soobin asked.

Jimin slowed his steps for a moment, hesitating before he finally spoke, “I keep seeing my friends dead,” he said. “And I’m starting to be afraid that these are real visions and not fictional nightmares. Every night, if I dream, it’s another nightmare of my friends all dead. I just can’t tolerate it anymore. This has to be the way to save them.” 

Soobin’s eyes widened as his mind quickly flashed the image from his most recent nightmare of Yeonjun with blood on his face and dead eyes. He shook his head, wanting to remove the image from his mind, but then that horrific ringing in his ears started and he pressed his hands against his ears desperately to stop the noise.

“Soobin?” he heard Jimin’s muffled voice. “What’s the matter?” he felt a hand on his shoulder, but he couldn’t concentrate on anything except the sharp ringing in his ear. 

“Ringing…” Soobin managed to say as he continued to clutch at his ears. He closed his eyes and then realized that his ears were ringing because there was something here, it wasn’t because of that vision of dead Yeonjun. “Something...here…”

Jimin’s hand left his shoulder and he heard footsteps receding. He looked up quickly because he was afraid of being left here in this awful place, and then he saw Jimin running down the path. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up to his feet. The ringing slowly faded out and now he felt like he could easily chase Jimin. 

He wasn’t going to be lost here, and he actually felt like he needed to keep an eye on Jimin, too. Maybe it was true that Jimin had locked him in a cell and kept him in this nightmare place, but his obsession was based solely on his fear of losing his friends and Soobin could relate to that. Maybe he could help this man, maybe he could show him there was another way to protect his friends. If that was possible. 

It seemed a better alternative to using magic from this crazy Magic Island, anyway.

Soobin stopped as they now stood before a large stone table, much like the one in the castle where Jimin stayed and kept Soobin. A book was resting upon it, looking so simple that it would be easy to ignore. Jimin was approaching the book carefully and with reverence, but Soobin stood back and just watched. The ringing burst back in his ear as Jimin got closer and closer to the book, and Soobin knew the ringing was being caused by the book itself. It seemed anything exceptionally magical would cause that ringing, and it frightened him because that just seemed to signal to him that the book was dangerous. No matter what it might be capable of doing for them, it wasn’t going to be worth it.

“Jimin!” Soobin called out to him. “Please, stop! It’s dangerous. You can’t use that!”

“We’ve come this far,” Jimin said as he finally stood before the table. “I’m not going to ignore what must be done to protect the people most precious to me.” 

“But what if they lose _you_ because that book is so dangerous? Would it be worth it? There’s a price for dealing with evil magic! You already know this!” Soobin said firmly. “I know it, too. Please, just listen to me. There must be other ways to soothe your nightmares, but I think this book is preying on your fears and causing those nightmares, too. I think...it gave me a nightmare about my friend. It wanted me to consider using it to save him, but I can’t do that now that I’ve been here and seen it. Maybe nothing will ever happen to your friends, Jimin, maybe the book is making up all of these nightmares for you.” 

“You don’t know that,” Jimin said as he glanced back at him. “And I have worked so hard to find it. I have to do this now.” and he reached out and placed his hands on the book. 

A ripple of air seemed to burst from the book, causing Soobin to stumble back a step and the ringing to intensify for a moment before fading away. He winced and touched his ear as he felt something running down his earlobe. He looked at his fingers and saw blood there, and he looked back up at Jimin in fear. His ear had only bled once before; the last time he’d been here and the magic had been so intense and dangerous that it had nearly destroyed him. 

What were they about to get themselves into?

Jimin turned around then, and he was holding the book against his chest and he had a look of relief on his face. “I’ve done it,” he said. “We’ve done it, Soobin. We can protect our friends now.”

Soobin watched him quietly, and he didn’t look so confident. “Then let’s get out of this forest,” he said softly. He wanted to get out of this forest so his ears would stop ringing, but he knew he had work to do to protect Jimin from himself.

Soobin was going to have to make sure Jimin did not use that stone table in the castle to unlock that book, or else it could prove the end of him. He might be lost forever if he opened that book and allowed it’s true power to be released.

He was going to have to be brave and make sure that never happened. He just had to come up with a plan during the walk from the forest back to the castle.


	7. The Battleground

“In here!” Hoseok called out as he stood on a staircase and pointed ahead. They were inside a weird, broken down castle that Yeonjun had said reminded him of his dream. Taehyun was afraid of what that meant, especially since the only cell they had walked past was empty with no signs of Soobin. 

“It’s going to be alright,” Jin kept saying to the younger boys. He seemed to exude this warm, calming energy that did relax them a little, but they all knew this wasn’t going to be okay. The Magic Island had not been kind to them before.

“What happened last time you were here?” Jungkook asked as he seemed to inspect every crack in the stone walls as they marched up the stairs towards the room Hoseok had discovered.

“We got attacked by magic,” Beomgyu said as he walked next to Jungkook. “We...kinda had a party. We were excited to be here. I don’t know if we angered something that lives on the Magic Island by doing that, but...it was so weird.”

“It started with a massive forest fire,” Hueningkai said. “We didn’t even start it! It wasn’t near our bonfire.”

“And then there was a train, but it wasn’t really a train,” Taehyun said. “It was just...sound, and pain, and magic.” he shook his head. “This place is scary. We have to hurry.”

“That sounds crazy,” Jungkook said as he glanced at Taehyung.

Taehyung just shrugged. “We’ve seen some weird places before, too,” he said. “Remember that place with the big long table and the feast of food? There was a huge mansion...it was so weird.” 

“We’ve seen a lot of weird things, too, but I think they’re right about hurrying to get out of here,” Yoongi said. “I don’t like the feeling of this place.” 

When they finally entered the room at the top of the stairs, they were surprised to find it was empty except for a stone table at the far end. Hueningkai slowly walked in a circle, just looking around. 

“This is where Jimin and Soobin are supposed to be? There’s nothing here. No book, no nothing,” Hueningkai pointed out.

“But this table...there’s strong magical energy coming off of it,” Hoseok said as he gestured to it. Taehyung quickly began to approach it, obviously curious and maybe hoping to find a clue about Jimin on the table, but Jin quickly ran over and grabbed his arm.

“No, don’t touch that,” he said quickly. “Hoseok is right, there’s a lot of magic attached to that table. It’s not safe.”

Taehyung looked surprised, and then glanced at the table. “Do you think Jimin has touched it?” he asked. 

“Of course he has,” Yoongi said with a sigh. “He isn’t going to let anything stop him from achieving his goal and finding the book.”

“And what does this have to do with the book?” Namjoon asked as he leaned over to look at the markings carved into the edge of the stone table. “Do these symbols mean something?”

“This stone table is full of old magic that can be used to unlock magical artifacts,” Yoongi explained. “It will unlock the book so that he can use it.”

“So, he hasn’t opened it yet?” Jin asked.

“It’d be impossible,” Yoongi said with a nod. 

“That’s good, then,” Jungkook said with a small smile. “Right?”

“Right,” Namjoon agreed. “So, what do we do? Do we need to just wait for him to show up, or should we go out looking for him?”

“I suppose you can just wait,” Jimin’s voice suddenly echoed from across the room. 

Yeonjun whipped around, praying to see that Soobin was there with him, and such relief flooded through his body when he saw Soobin standing next to Jimin. Yeonjun saw the concern in his eyes, and tiredness in his expression. He was overwhelmed, he was regretting his decision to come here, and he was afraid of the consequences he would face by being here. Yeonjun just wanted to run up and hug him, but he knew this was a dangerous situation and any sudden movements could be taken as a threat. However, Hueningkai did not think it through and dashed forward suddenly.

“Hueningkai! No!” Yeonjun shouted at him and quickly leapt after him. 

Jimin suddenly held out his hand, causing Hueningkai to stop in place and with a flick of his wrist Hueningkai flew back into Yeonjun. Yeonjun held onto him, helping him stand upright again and quickly pushing his younger friend behind him.

“Jimin, stop!” Soobin shouted as he grabbed hold of Jimin’s wrist to move his hand from pointing towards his friends. “What are you doing? You said you wanted to help me protect them, and you said you wanted to protect your friends. Why would you do this?”

“He’s unharmed,” Jimin said as he pulled his hand away from Soobin’s grip. “I just didn’t want him to rush us. I want everyone to remain calm as I explain what I’m going to do.”

“He has the book,” Hoseok breathed as he glanced at Namjoon. 

Namjoon set his jaw and stepped forward. “What are you doing, Jimin!? Why would you go after this dangerous treasure? Why would you continue to do this even after Yoongi gave it up? You two almost died while traveling to find that cursed thing, and here you are holding it with your own hands!” 

“You don’t understand,” Jimin said as he lifted his chin, continuing to hug the book close to his chest. “And I can’t expect you to.”

“Why wouldn’t we understand?” Taehyung asked as he stepped forward now. “Jimin, it’s us. We’ve been through everything together, and we want to help you. We aren’t going to take away anything from you, we just want to know what’s going on.”

Jimin watched them suspiciously, still holding the book protectively. “I told you why I needed to do this, Taehyung. It’s not my fault if you haven’t told the others,” he said firmly. 

“Not told us? Not told us what, Taehyung?” Jin asked with a concerned look in his eyes.

“Please, just let Soobin go!” Beomgyu shouted across the room. Yeonjun wanted that too, but it seemed like Jimin wasn’t going to let Soobin go so easily. It was almost like he was holding him as a hostage now. 

“Soobin came here because he wanted to protect you four, and yet you’re so selfish,” Jimin muttered. 

“Taehyung, tell us what Jimin meant,” Namjoon said firmly. “Tell us what’s going on!”

Taehyung just stared at Jimin and it seemed like he couldn’t find the words that everyone wanted him to say, so Jimin just shook his head. “You’re afraid to say it, too,” he said. Then he looked up at Namjoon. “I’ve seen visions of you all dead. Every day, every night, it’s all I see.”

“Oh my god,” Hoseok breathed. “Jimin, you never fully recovered from the dark magic, did you?”

“Physically I did,” Jimin shrugged. “But mentally? Hah, I don’t think I’ll ever recover.” he patted the book. “So, I’ll use this to make sure everything works out alright. So, I don’t lose all of you. Now, move out of the way so I can open this.”

“You’re not going to lose us,” Jin said as he held out his hands. “But we’re not going to let you get to this table.”

Jungkook stepped forward next to Taehyung and nodded. “We have to protect you,” he said. “And this is how we’re gonna do that. And, we have to save Soobin, too, because I think it’s clear he’s not interested in being here.”

Jimin glanced at Soobin. “Do you want to go back to your friends?” he asked. “You want to abandon your hope of protecting them?”

Soobin looked at Jimin and he felt sorry for him, but he knew he couldn’t stay here. He’d stayed with Jimin in hopes of finding a way to stop him, but now he had others to help him do that. He didn’t have to be alone. 

“Jimin, I want to be with my friends,” he said. “I realized after coming here how wrong I was. Nothing can truly protect our friends forever, bad things are going to happen, but we have to hope that we can do as much as possible to ensure they don’t suffer much. That’s all we can do. Life is a risk, right? Especially for people like us who were chosen by magic. Let’s just stand besides them.”

Jimin frowned, and then he hugged the book tighter to his chest and closed his eyes. “Then go,” he said. 

“Jimin-” Soobin started.

“Go!” Jimin cried out. Suddenly black wings burst from his back, feathers scattering from his wings with the aggressive motion as they flapped and caused a rush of wind all around them. It was almost as though magic was circling him like a tornado, making a powerful shield around him.

Soobin quickly rushed away from Jimin, and he felt someone grab hold of his hand. He looked over and saw Yeonjun holding onto him, and he couldn’t help but smile. He’d finally made it back. He was where he belonged. Yeonjun pulled him in close for a hug, and all the others came around him and hugged him tightly. Despite the danger of the situation and the vicious magical wind coming from Jimin, they had each other and for once in a long time he felt grounded. 

“Jimin, no!” Taehyung cried out. 

Then the chaos really kicked off. Jimin rose into the air with the aid from his wings, and then Taehyung and Jungkook sprouted similar wings, although they weren’t the same ominous black that Jimin’s were. Taehyung and Jungkook tried to stop Jimin, to get through his barrier of magic that swirled around him, but it seemed impossible.

“You five!” Namjoon shouted to them as he remained standing by the table in order to prevent Jimin from getting near it. “Quickly! Behind this pillar!” he pointed to a large structural pillar off to the side of the room, and the five of them quickly rushed over and followed Namjoon’s instructions.

Yeonjun instructed Hueningkai to crouch down closest to the pillar, then Beomgyu and Taehyun next closest, and then tried to tell Soobin to crouch next. “Come on! I’ll hold my arms around you all and keep you safe,” he shouted above the sounds of the loud wind.

“No,” Soobin shook his head and made Yeonjun crouch down next, and then wrapped his arms around all of them protectively. “No, this is my place. I’m going to keep you all safe now.” 

They didn’t fight it, they seemed happy to have Soobin with them and that was all they needed. Right now they just had to focus on surviving another day of chaos on the Magic Island.

Soobin didn’t know what was even happening, didn’t know the people who were with his friends, but he had to assume they were the friends Jimin feared losing so much, to the point where he was even losing himself. 

\---

When chaos erupted in the room and Jimin’s wings came out, allowing him to unlock his full power, the others knew they had to stop him immediately. Jimin was so afraid that he was being completely wrapped up in that fear, and his magic was feeding off of all that negative energy. 

“We have to get the book away from him!” Hoseok shouted as he remained standing in front of the stone table with Namjoon while Jungkook and Taehyung confronted him in the air. Jin stood closer to the pillar where their young friends were hiding, because he needed to protect them, too. “His own powerful magic might unlock the book!”

“I said, that’s impossible!” Yoongi barked back at Hoseok. 

“There’s so many emotions wrapped up in his magic right now, it could be powerful enough! Can’t you feel that!?” Namjoon pointed out. “He’s unleashed everything he has to protect that stupid book!”

Yoongi frowned and looked up just in time to see Jungkook being cast out of the air by a powerful burst of magic from Jimin’s wings. Yoongi quickly stepped forward, grounding himself powerfully with his own magic so he could catch Jungkook. 

The boy fell harshly against Yoongi’s chest and arms, but he just held onto him until he knew he was well enough to stand on his own. “This is my fault,” Yoongi said as he patted Jungkook’s shoulder. “I need to confront him.”

“Be careful, though,” Jungkook said as he looked up at Jimin and Taehyung with worry. “Don’t hurt him.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Yoongi’s own wings appeared as he prepared himself to meet Jimin in the air. “Stay back with Namjoon and Hoseok.” and then he jumped into the air and flew easily over to where Taehyung was begging Jimin to listen while dodging the bursts of magic coming from him. 

“Taehyung, back down,” Yoongi said as he watched Jimin with determination. “I’m going to fix this mess I made.”

Taehyung looked at him, worry in his eyes. “Yoongi,” he said. “Why can’t I stand at your side?” 

“You need to let me do this, you need to stay safe,” Yoongi said. “I know how to handle this. Just trust me. You need to protect the stone table, and the kids.” 

Taehyung watched him for a moment, then sighed. “Just bring him back safely,” he said as he touched Yoongi’s arm before finally floating back down to the ground to do as Yoongi had instructed. 

Yoongi looked back at Jimin, and he could see his eyes glowing beyond the shield of swirling magic around himself. He could see anger, distrust, fear, and everything in his gaze and he knew he had been the one to instill that fear in him. Yoongi had thought by giving him the option to find this book that it would free them both from their fears, their concerns about losing their friends, but in the end it had only made it worse. The book had become an obsession for Jimin as he had been plagued by nightmares, and Yoongi...he’d left him to steep in that fear and obsession.. 

He knew he had to fix this. He wasn’t going to stop until he had his entire family back. 

“Jimin, there’s only one way out of this,” Yoongi shouted to him. 

Jimin was still clutching that book. “And what way is that, Yoongi?”

“You come home with me, and forget all about that damn book,” Yoongi said simply.

Jimin scoffed. “I have worked too hard to find this book for you to take it away from me just like that. You know why we need this! It was your idea to find it! How can you change your mind when you know how dangerous our lives are? We need extra protection,” he said.

“I guess you’ll just have to let me show you how I’m gonna work it out,” Yoongi said. “You trusted me once, can’t you trust me again?” 

“I can’t let go of the book,” Jimin said. His voice wavered, Yoongi felt like that was the old Jimin speaking, unsure of how to free himself from the grip of the magic of the book. The obsession was making him tired, too.

Yoongi nodded. “Then I’ll have to help you let it go,” and he rushed towards Jimin, crashing through the magical shield around him and grabbing a hold of his friend. 

This was going to end. He’d be the one to see it through.


	8. Visions and Nightmares

Yeonjun couldn’t help but watch as Yoongi attempted to get Jimin to release the book and stop his magical attacks. A loud explosive sound that caused a shockwave of magic burst into the room when Yoongi broke through Jimin’s magic shield to grab onto him. 

“Ah!” Jin cried out and turned around to face the younger boys. “Get out! Get out! The burst of magic cracked the pillar!”

Yeonjun looked up to see the pillar actually begin tilting back towards him and his friends. It would crush them if they didn’t get out of the way fast enough, and they didn't really have much time to react.  


Yeonjun shoved Soobin back first, since he was sitting behind him, and then he grabbed Beomgyu and Taehyun and practically threw them to the side with all of the adrenaline rushing through his veins. All he could hear was the sound of blood pumping through his ears. Hueningkai was the last one, and the one sitting against the pillar which had once been their protection. He grabbed him, but Yeonjun knew he wasn’t going to be able to get himself out as well. That was just a risk he was going to have to take right now. He had to protect his friends first, and he could figure out the rest later.

“Yeonjun!” He heard his friends screaming his name, but he just threw Hueningkai after them and the last thing he heard was a massive cracking noise and then everything went black.

\----

“No!” Soobin screamed as he watched the pillar collapse on Yeonjun. He ran over even as Jin also hurried to the scene and began throwing rubble off of where Yeonjun was now buried. The two men were joined by Jungkook, and then Beomgyu and Taehyun. Soobin felt hot tears running down his cheeks as he kept pushing the rubble away, and his breathing was ragged as his anxiety threatened to choke him. 

How could this happen? Why did Yeonjun always have to be so brave?

When they finally found Yeonjun underneath the rubble, Soobin had a flashback to his nightmare. The blood on Yeonjun’s face...he was so bruised. He was dead, wasn’t he? Jin was kneeling down and checking for a pulse, as Jungkook put his arms around Taehyun and Beomgyu. Taehyun was sobbing, and Beomgyu was just staring in shock. Soobin didn’t even know how he felt, he just felt so numb. This was so insane. This was all his fault. He never should have come here.

“He’s alive,” Jin told them as he gently placed his hand on Yeonjun’s chest. “Let me use some of my magic to give him strength.” 

Soobin was shaking, but he was grateful that Jin could help him in some way. He was so sure he would have been dead, but Yeonjun was still clinging to life. Then he looked up as he realized he didn’t see Hueningkai anymore, and his eyes widened with horror as he saw Hueningkai standing out in the middle of the room, right below the fight between Yoongi and Jimin.

“Hyuka!” Soobin shouted after him, but it seemed he was determined to do something here. 

“Stop!” Hueningkai shouted. His voice seemed amplified by magic, because it reverberated around the whole room. It made everything stop in place, as if he had used his magic to slow down time. “Stop it right now!” 

Yoongi was still wrestling with Jimin for the book, but as he heard Hueningkai’s cry and evaluated the situation he finally released him and slowly landed on the ground again next to the boy. 

“What happened?” Yoongi asked.

Hueningkai kept staring up at Jimin, tears slowly running down his face. “You,” he snapped, but his voice was choked up by his emotion. “You got involved in all of this crazy stuff because you wanted to protect your friends, right? Your friends...they said you’d never do anything to hurt anyone, so I was worried about Soobin but I was never afraid that he might be hurt when I got here.”

Jimin watched Hueningkai quietly now, still holding that book but no longer casting any kind of magic. He seemed to be in control of himself now. 

“Well,” Hueningkai continued as he wiped his hands over his cheeks to remove the tear trails, although the tears kept rolling down his cheeks. “You didn’t hurt Soobin, but now you’ve hurt my friend Yeonjun. You hurt him badly! Because you’re selfish and so focused on what you want instead of doing what’s best for your friends!” he gestured back at the others. “Look at your friends! They’re hurt! Maybe not physically, but they’re emotionally hurt! Because of you!”

Jimin slowly floated back down to the ground, landing carefully and continuing to look around. “I’m sorry, my magic...I was just afraid-”

“Being afraid is normal,” Hueningkai said. “I’ve been afraid before. I’m honestly afraid now because the Magic Island has been a scary place to me and my friends before, but even when I’m afraid I know all I have to do is rely on my friends. But...now you’ve hurt one of my friends, one of the people who makes me feel safe. If he doesn’t survive this day, then how will you fix that?”

Taehyung walked over next to Hueningkai then, and he put a hand on his shoulder gently. Hueningkai looked down and put his hands over his eyes as he cried some more. Taehyung hugged him gently. “Go back and stand with your friends. Thank you,” he said. “You’ve helped a lot today, Hueningkai.” 

“Is Yeonjun going to be okay?” Hueningkai asked softly.

“Jin’s doing what he can,” Taehyung said with a small smile. Hueningkai looked back at Jimin one more time, and he was sure he saw remorse on his face, but he just hurried back over to Soobin and held onto him instead. Taehyung turned his attention back to Jimin. “This has to end, Jimin.”

“It has to,” Yoongi agreed. “You could have killed that kid by using your magic recklessly.”

Jimin suddenly slumped down to his knees, the book dropping from his hands. Taehyung’s brow furrowed and he took a cautious step forward. “Jimin?” 

Jimin collapsed onto his side without a word, and Yoongi and Taehyung ran over in alarm. “He probably just used all of his strength because of all that magic, right?” Taehyung asked as Yoongi knelt down next to Jimin to check him over.

“I…” Yoongi didn’t seem to know how to answer. He looked at the book and touched it lightly with his finger tips, and then he flinched and pulled his hand back. “Oh my god.” he looked up at Taehyung. “Namjoon was right. He unlocked the book with his magic alone.”

Taehyung’s eyes widened and he looked at Jimin. “What does that mean?”

“The magic probably possessed Jimin, and that’s why he was so powerful,” Yoongi placed a hand on Jimin’s forehead, closing his eyes as he seemed to be trying to sense for any trouble. He opened his eyes again, and he looked solemn. “That dark magic has a hold on him. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get him back.” 

“What!?” Taehyung exclaimed. He knelt down and grabbed hold of Jimin’s shoulder, shaking him desperately. “Jimin! Wake up! Wake up!”

“What’s going on?” Namjoon asked as he ran over with Hoseok. “Is he okay?”

“He unlocked the book. The dark magic has possessed his body,” Yoongi said with a sigh as he sat back. He put a hand on his forehead, looking utterly spent. “I don’t know how to get him back.”

Hoseok couldn’t seem to believe that, kneeling down himself and placing a hand on his chest to check his state, but he could obviously sense the dark magic coiled in Jimin’s soul and he quickly retracted his hand and looked alarmed. “Oh no,” he said.

“How do you not know how to fix this, Yoongi?” Namjoon questioned. “You’re the one that did all that ‘research’.”

“I don’t know!” Yoongi snapped. “I just wanted to use the book for the spells. If he had opened it using the stone table, it wouldn’t have possessed him! The dark magic would have been sealed in the table, which is why that’s the only way to open those types of artifacts! But I had no idea it was possible for him to open it with his own magic. If I had known this was possible, I would have let him put the damn book on the stone table before taking it away from him.” 

“This is awful,” Hoseok breathed. “Maybe if we burn the book-”

“That wouldn’t take the dark magic out of Jimin,” Yoongi said. “It would just prevent us from having a place to put the dark magic, if we manage to get it out of him.” 

“Right, the book is the vessel,” Namjoon said as he cautiously picked it up. It didn’t feel magical anymore, it just seemed like an ordinary book, which was definitely a confirmation that the magic was now residing within Jimin. “There must be a magic spell that can remove dark magic and seal it in another vessel, right?”

Yoongi shrugged, but then another voice spoke up behind them. “There is a way to do it,” Taehyun said quietly. 

They all looked back at him, surprised that he was even over here since Yeonjun was still unconscious and injured. “You...know how to do that?” Taehyung asked. “How?”

“I can see magic,” Taehyun said. “Most people can’t see it, right? They can just sense it. I can see it.” he looked over at Jimin. “I can see it twisting around his soul and keeping him unconscious like that. It’ll eat away at him until there’s nothing left and he’s just their vessel to use and manipulate. But, you probably know that.”

“Okay, well, how do you move the magic out of his soul and back into the book?” Namjoon asked.

“Put him on the stone table,” Taehyun said. “The old magic in that stone table will make the dark magic easier to manipulate. I...can’t manipulate it myself, but I’m sure one of you could. I can tell you how to guide the magic out of his soul, and once it’s out you can trap it back in the book.”

“How do you even know all of this? I thought you kids were pretty new to magic,” Yoongi asked.

“I’ve known about my magic for two years,” Taehyun shrugged. “I’ve done my own research. Especially after our first visit to the Magic Island.”

“We might as well try it,” Namjoon said. Taehyung nodded quickly and he crouched down to pick up Jimin and carefully walked him over to the stone table. 

As he walked over he saw Jin still trying to use his magic to strengthen Yeonjun, and Soobin holding Yeonjun’s hand with sadness and desperation in his eyes. Taehyung couldn’t believe this had spiraled so far out of control, and he knew Jimin would feel so guilty once he was back to his normal self. 

“What’s wrong with Jimin?” Jungkook asked as he got up and looked over. 

“He’s been possessed,” Taehyung said as he set Jimin down gently on the stone table. Suddenly a loud rumble growled through the entire stone room, causing the remaining pillars to crack and the walls to groan. This whole place was too dangerous, but they had to save Jimin before he was lost for good.

“Possessed? Ahhh,” Jin sighed and looked more stressed than usual. “The dark magic really has toyed with us for too long. It’s trying to take Jimin from us entirely.” he looked up. “You all know this isn’t Jimin. He’s been manipulated from the beginning by that cursed item! Even Yoongi was manipulated by it for a while!”

“But I didn’t have the nightmares that he was having,” Yoongi sighed. “We need to find a way to save him from those nightmares, too. But, one thing at a time, I guess.”

Jungkook walked over and placed his hand gently on Jimin’s head, stroking his hair lightly. Tears welled up in his eyes to see his friend in this state. “Tell me what to do,” he said. “I’ll do it. I’ll save him.”

“You know how to extract dark magic from a soul?” Taehyun asked as he stood next to Jungkook. “Because that’s what you’re going to have to do.” 

Jungkook looked at Taehyun. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,” he said. “My magic allows me to be capable of things I’ve never done before, so just tell me what to do.” 

Taehyun pursed his lips a little, then he nodded and closed his eyes. “Place your hand on his chest,” he said. “You’re going to feel the dark magic there. You have to channel that dark magic out of him with your own magic. Um...act as if you want to use that dark magic yourself, and it’ll be summoned.”

“How do I do that?” Jungkook muttered, but then he shrugged and placed his hand on Jimin’s chest. He could feel the heat of the dark magic that boiled in Jimin’s soul, and he closed his eyes and began acting as if he was about to channel the magic himself, but to his surprise the dark magic seemed to want to fight him. It was almost as if it was happy to just sit in Jimin’s soul and it didn’t want to be summoned.

“Keep trying!” Taehyun urged. “It has to obey the one who summons it, just like all magic does!” 

“Why are you even helping him after what he did to Yeonjun?” Hueningkai asked as he sat next to Soobin sadly. 

“We have to make this right,” Taehyun answered without opening his eyes. “Jimin has been possessed by this dark magic far longer than he even knew, I think. He was marked by the injury he received from that attack, and the dark magic from this book just attached itself to him. We need to forgive him, and hope they both get out of this. We have to.” 

Hueningkai looked down and leaned against Soobin. He knew Taehyun was right, but he was so afraid for his friend. Bad things always happened at the Magic Island.

Jungkook slowly managed to summon the dark magic out of Jimin’s soul, but his arms burned as he felt the magic flowing into his hands and arms. He wanted to hold it at bay, because he didn’t want this evil to take over his own soul, but he was grateful he had at least managed to get it out of Jimin.

“Now press your hands on the book and expel it!” Taehyun said quickly, his eyes still closed. “I can see the dark magic in your arms...it’ll burn you if you hold onto it for too long.” 

Jungkook nodded and placed his hands on that old magic book and flushed the dark magic out his arms. He let out a cry, because it hurt! It did feel like it had burned him, but the dark magic had to obey and it was placed back into the book. However, the seal wasn’t confirmed as long as it sat on the table where it could easily be opened and used.

Namjoon grabbed Jimin’s still unconscious body off of the table to ensure the dark magic couldn’t attach to him again, and he gently laid him down on the floor even as Hoseok sat down next to Jimin and tried to soothe him with his own magic. “Come on, Jimin,” Hoseok whispered, but it seemed he wasn’t going to wake up any time soon.

“We have to get out of here,” Beomgyu said as he watched the whole scene unfold. “We need to get Yeonjun medical attention, and it’d probably be a good idea to get Jimin far away from this place. Right?”

“Right,” Namjoon agreed. “Let’s just leave the book.” 

“No,” Soobin suddenly stood up and approached the book. “We can’t leave this here. It might try to attract another person.” he looked around, and then ran over to the wall and grabbed a torch off of it. He ran back and held the torch out towards the book. “You’re never going to hurt anyone ever again.” he glared at the book as he placed the torch on the open pages, and as soon as it caught fire it seemed as if the book itself was screaming in pain. 

“That really is cursed,” Taehyung muttered. “It’s like it had a life of its own.”

“I told you!” Jin said as he stood up, carrying Yeonjun in his arms now. “Next time I tell you a magical artifact is cursed, can you listen to me please?” 

Jungkook helped Taehyung put Jimin on his back so they could carry him out as well. “We’ll listen,” Jungkook said quickly. “Come on! We need to get out of here, this whole place feels unstable.” 

Everyone agreed, and even in that moment stones began to fall from the ceiling as the entire room began to shift and groan as though an earthquake was suddenly taking place. It was almost as if that cursed book was trying to destroy everything around it in a last ditch effort to destroy the boys who had been chosen by the magic, but had rejected its own offer for power. 

“Run!” Soobin cried out as he grabbed Hueningkai’s arm, and made sure Taehyun and Beomgyu were at his side. The entire group of boys with their injured companions made a run through the dark halls even as the stone walls threatened to fall upon them. 

Hoseok ran up to an empty wall and placed his hand against it, causing that familiar outline to appear. Taehyun, Beomgyu and Hueningkai stepped forward to put their hand on the door, but it just wasn’t enough power.

“Soobin!” Taehyun grabbed his hand and placed it on the wall as well. “We need your help.”

Soobin hadn’t done this before, but he was shocked to see that outline turn into a real door. Beomgyu threw open the door and gestured for those carrying the injured to go through first, and then finally the rest of them followed mere seconds before the entire hallway of the ancient castle on the Magic Island collapsed into rubble.

But they had survived another event on the Magic Island.


	9. Restoration

The group split up once they arrived back in their world. Jimin was taken by his friends back to their home, and Yeonjun was taken by his friends to the hospital to be treated for his bruises and injuries. Everyone was shaken up, no one really knew what to say, they just knew they had to get their friends treated and well again.

Soobin soon enough found himself sitting next to Yeonjun as he laid in the emergency room bed. The doctor had put stitches in a big cut on his forehead, and he had a brace around his wrist because it was sprained. 

“What exactly happened to him?” the doctor asked. “He has bad injuries, but they’re not so severe that he should have to stay much longer. However, he will need to be careful. He has a mild concussion and some bruised ribs. The stitches will need to be removed in a week, but he needs to keep them clean, and the sprain will have to be checked in three weeks. I’ll make sure all this information is written down and follow up appointments are taken care of.”

“Ah, he had a bad fall,” Soobin said as he gave a polite bow. “We were being careless. Thank you so much for your hard work.” 

The doctor nodded and walked away, and Soobin looked at Yeonjun. He was awake now, but he still seemed a bit dazed. “Are you okay?” Soobin asked. “Why did you do something so reckless?”

Yeonjun glanced at him, then he shrugged. “I’d do anything to save my friends,” he said.

“You could have died,” Soobin said. “What would I have done without you?”

Yeonjun chuckled a bit and shrugged. “I just...I don’t know. I had to do what I had to do,” he said simply. “It was instinct.”

“Your instincts are crazy,” Soobin smiled a little and reached over to touch his arm. 

Yeonjun patted his hand gently. “Why did you leave us, Soobin? Do you know how much I worried?” he asked. “Why did you feel the need to protect us so much that you left us like that for something you didn’t even understand?” 

Soobin paused and removed his hand from Yeonjun’s arm, then he sighed softly. “I don’t know,” he said. “I just started thinking about the Magic Island and I started worrying. I know you don’t understand, but sometimes I have visions about things...and one time I had a nightmare that you were...dead. Honestly, what happened to you back there made me think my vision was real.” he sighed and looked down. 

Yeonjun sat up a little more and watched him quietly. He rubbed at his side a little as his ribs ached, but he was far more focused on Soobin right now. “Soobin, we’re going to be okay,” he said. “I mean, there might be some times when bad things happen, but we already know that the only thing we can do to prevent that is learn more about our _own_ magic to stay safe. We can’t...trust magic outside of us.” 

Soobin paused and then he nodded. “I’ve learned a lot,” he agreed. “The dark magic manipulated Jimin and made him do things outside of his character because of his fear. I won’t let fear control me again, but...I don’t think I can help being worried about you, or the rest.”

“That’s normal,” Yeonjun said. “I worry too, you know?” he smiled a little. “I’m just good at covering it.” 

Then Taehyun appeared, followed by Beomgyu and Hueningkai. They all grinned at the sight of him sitting up and talking to Soobin, and then quickly placed gifts of food on his bed. 

“You’re awake!” Taehyun exclaimed. “I was worried.” he walked over and hugged him gently. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Apparently,” Yeonjun nodded. “Just a sprained wrist, some bruises, and some stitches.” 

“That doesn’t sound okay,” Beomgyu pointed out as he leaned for a hug once Taehyun stepped back. “But I bet Jin really saved you by using his magic, right? If not for him, you might be in worse shape.”

“Oh? I didn’t know about that,” Yeonjun said with a little surprise. “He helped me?”

“Soobin and Jin were the first ones to start moving rubble off of you,” Taehyun said. “He really cared about saving you.”

“I’ll have to thank him,” Yeonjun said. “What exactly happened, anyway?”

Hueningkai moved in for a hug next, but he didn’t want to let go of the hug so easily. “Jimin got possessed by the dark magic, and Taehyun and Jungkook saved him! But...I don’t really know what happened to him,” he said as he leaned back to look at Yeonjun. “We should check on him when you’re feeling better.” 

“Yeah, I’d like to do that,” Yeonjun agreed. “I know it was hard on them to see their friend so far gone.” 

“They seem like good people,” Soobin agreed. “It’s strange that they have magic like us, isn’t it? But those wings…”

“It’s part of their magic,” Beomgyu agreed. “I thought it was cool.”

“It was,” Hueningkai grinned. 

“Hyuka,” Soobin smiled. “You seem so happy now. Yesterday you were crying so much.” 

“Well, yesterday I wasn’t even sure if Yeonjun would be okay,” Hueningkai said as he looked at his friend. “But now...now we’re back together, like we always should be. It just proves that we can stand against anything as long as we’re together.” 

Beomgyu hugged Hueningkai, laughing lightly. “Yeah,” he said. “He’s right. Us and our magic. We’re gonna be safe together.” he reached out and poked Soobin’s cheek. “That means you don’t have to look for anything else to protect us. We just have to be together.”

“But even if we do get separated, we’ll be okay,” Taehyun said. “Because we’ll just...find each other again. Just like we did this time.” 

Soobin felt emotional as his friends spoke. He knew they were right. Things weren’t going to be easy in life, that was clear enough, but their bond would be something that would truly get them through even the hardest times and the scariest situations. 

“You’re right,” Soobin said. “I’ll never forget it. I promise.” 

“We should check on Jimin and the others,” Hueningkai suggested. “Whenever you’re free to go, Yeonjun.” 

“The doctor said I could leave,” Yeonjun said. “I just have to wait for all that paperwork stuff. Which makes me happy, I’ve been here all night.” he rolled his eyes. “I’m tired, but I’d rather be out of here.”

“I bet if we go, Jin will cook us a big meal,” Hueningkai said.

“Ooh, now you’re making my mouth water,” Beomgyu chuckled. “Just wait until you eat his food, Soobin! You’re gonna be full for the rest of the day.” 

Soobin smiled, and then he stood up and put one arm around Yeonjun’s shoulders and waved the others to come in. “Group hug,” he said. The group quickly got into a hug, giggling and smiling and Soobin felt so content. 

This was family. He was going to be fine as long as he had them. He wasn’t going to let fear rule him for another minute, he was just going to live in the moment and stand by them forever.

That was all he wanted.

\----

Namjoon sighed as he walked out of Jimin’s room. He looked tired, but he had been up all night with the others as they monitored Jimin’s condition, and hoped he would soon wake up. 

“Any luck?” Jungkook asked as he looked up at Namjoon from where he was sitting in the hallway huddled up in his blanket. He looked so small as he sat like that, his eyes were heavy with tiredness. 

“He’s still asleep,” Namjoon said. “Yoongi says he’s going to wake up. I just don’t understand why he hasn’t already.” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m gonna get some sleep. Come on, you should, too.”

“No, I’ll just wait,” Jungkook said. “I won’t be able to sleep if I know Jimin’s still...comatose, or whatever.” 

Namjoon ruffled Jungkook’s hair gently as he walked by him and headed towards the stairs. As Namjoon was heading up, Jin was heading down with a tray of coffee, orange juice, and some breakfast food. 

“Jin,” Jungkook chimed as he tried to sound a little more cheery than he was feeling. “You made breakfast for everyone?” 

“Of course,” Jin said simply as he walked over to the youngest member of their group and he held out a cup of orange juice to him. “Here, put something healthy in your body.”

Jungkook took the cup gratefully and sipped at it, and then he tilted his head. “You should go in and give the food to Yoongi and Taehyung. I know they’ve been nonstop all night,” he said. “They’re trying to use their magic to heal him and wake him up, so they must be exhausted.” 

Jin sighed softly and nodded in agreement. He looked at the door. “He hasn’t woken up yet, has he?” 

“Not yet,” Jungkook sipped at the orange juice again. “But he will. You know that, right?”

“I know it,” Jin said with a small smile as he knocked on the door to the room once before just opening the door and heading inside. The room was dark except for one light near the bed where Jimin was resting. The window curtains were shut to keep the light out, and Jin wondered if there was some reason for that, or if they were just too focused to notice.

“Hey, I brought breakfast,” Jin said as he set the tray down on the desk, and then moved to open the curtains just a bit to bring some light back into the room. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s fine,” Taehyung said softly. “Nothing’s wrong with him, he just won’t wake up.”

“The dark magic probably did a number on him, even if we managed to extract it pretty quickly,” Yoongi said as he held his head in his hands. He looked like he had a bad headache, or something. “It’s all my fault.”

“Yoongi, calm down,” Jin said as he rubbed his back, and then held out a plate of food to him. “Eat some food and get your energy back.” he paused and tilted his head. “Why don’t you two take a break? I’ll sit down with him.”

Taehyung looked at Jin. “I don’t want to leave him-”

“Go take an hour nap,” Jin said firmly. “Both of you. Then you can come back and check on him. Don’t you trust me? He’ll be safe with me. Go take your breakfast and eat and rest.”

Taehyung and Yoongi both hesitated, but finally they got to their feet and walked out of the room with the plates of food as Jin demanded. He sat down next to Jimin and then sighed and just watched him quietly. He didn’t know what to do or what to say, but he knew Jimin was going to wake up when he was ready. 

“You know,” Jin started as he folded his hands in his lap, looking down at the floor. “What you went through was awful. I’m sorry we didn’t know. I thought you were a little different after that day, but I never knew you were having nightmares and feeling so scared. Promise me that you won’t keep that from me ever again.”

He looked up and saw Jimin was unmoved by his speech. His chest rose and fell with his breath, but that was the only movement he noticed. He sighed softly and slowly got up to his feet and walked over to the plate on the desk. He had made this plate specifically for Jimin, because he was so sure he would be awake by now. He had hoped the smell of food would wake him like it always had before, but that just didn’t seem to be the case right now. 

The creak of the door opening startled Jin and he looked over to see Jungkook peeking in. Jin smiled and waved for him to come in, and Jungkook slipped inside and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and looked down at Jimin quietly, he seemed unsure of what to say.

“What do we do?” Jungkook asked.

“What can we do? We wait,” Jin said. 

“There has to be something more,” Jungkook said as he lightly poked Jimin’s cheek. He missed the playful smile that so easily graced his soft face. He looked over at Jin. “What about those kids? Yeonjun and his friends? I know Yeonjun is hurt and probably can’t...but what about the others? We’ve done all we know how to do, maybe they have a power in them that could wake him. They’re the keys that brought us to him, after all.”

“I don’t know if they’d be willing to be wrapped up in our business again,” Jin said with a small shrug. “I think Hoseok has Yeonjun’s cell phone number. I suppose he could text them.” 

“Let’s just try everything we can,” Jungkook said softly. “We owe him that much.” 

Jin nodded and then walked out to leave Jungkook to watch Jimin. He hurried up the stairs, taking two at a time until he saw Hoseok walking out of his room. “Hoseok!” he called out. “Do you still have Yeonjun’s number? Phone number?”

Hoseok blinked with surprise. “Why? Yoongi left like five minutes ago to get them, do you really need to call them?” he asked. His hair was wet and he was attempting to dry it with a towel, his big brown eyes looking confused.

“Yoongi left?” Jin’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“To find the kids. You know, Yeonjun, Taehyun, Beomgyu, and Hueningkai. Oh, and I guess Soobin now,” Hoseok smiled a little. “He thinks they can help Jimin wake up.”

“He...thought of that, too?” Jin smiled a bit. “I guess we really do think alike these days. Alright, well that’s good. I did tell him to take a nap, but I guess he doesn’t listen to me much these days.” 

“I don’t think he’ll be able to rest until Jimin wakes up,” Hoseok admitted.

“Where’s Taehyung?” Jin asked.

Hoseok chuckled. “On my bed, fast asleep. He told me he wasn’t going to fall asleep, so I told him to just try laying down on my bed while I was in the shower. As soon as I got out, he was fast asleep. Let’s just leave him there for as long as he needs to be.”

“Oh, I agree,” Jin said. “Alright, it seems like things are kind of under control.” 

“Jimin really won’t wake up, yet?” Hoseok asked softly.

“Not yet,” Jin said. “But I think those kids will be able to help us. We’re all exhausted, we’ve given everything we can to help Jimin and get through those doorways...maybe we’re just too spent.” he smiled a bit. “We’re lucky we have them.”

“Yeah, we really are,” Hoseok agreed. 

“I hope he can find them quickly, though. We don’t exactly know where they live,” Jin muttered.

“Magic will help him. I mean, whatever it is that has always guided us, whether it’s fate or magic or our own foolishness, we always find our way. Right?” Hoseok smiled and patted Jin’s shoulder as he walked past him and towards the living room. “We’re going to be just fine.”

\----

Yeonjun was laughing as he sat on the couch in Soobin’s house, surrounded by his friends who kept telling him to eat food and drink water and kept bundling him up in blankets. 

“Guys, I’m fine!” Yeonjun exclaimed, and then winced when he moved his wrist too fast. “Ow…”

“No, you’re not allowed to lift anything!” Hueningkai exclaimed as he took the bowl of cut fruit from his hands and sat down next to him. “I’ll just hold it for you.” 

“You can’t hold all of my food for me forever,” Yeonjun said with a smirk. “I can hold things with my right hand.”

“You have scratches on your right hand,” Taehyun pointed out. “Look at all those band-aids!”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, but he knew his friends only said all these things because they loved him so much, and he loved them, too. He was glad something had protected him from having worse injuries when that pillar fell. He knew it was a miracle he had survived, and he was glad for that miracle. He wanted to be around his friends for a long time, if he could be. 

“I’ll fill up your glass with more water,” Beomgyu said as he jumped to his feet and grabbed the glass. “You’re gonna be spoiled until you’re healed all the way.”

Soobin smiled as he watched them. “You’re gonna be spoiled, and I’m gonna be punished,” he said. “It’s all my fault that all of this happened.”

Yeonjun shook his head. “ _ Aishhh _ , can you stop it?” he said. “I’m tired of you saying stuff like that. You made a mistake, so what? We’re all gonna be tempted and make mistakes, right? You were tempted because you wanted to protect us, so at least it was something kind. It just shows how much you love us, how much you’re willing to risk for us.”

Soobin shrugged. “Yeah, but you’re the one that really did the protecting,” he said. “You actually put yourself in harm's way, because of me. I’ve never seen you do something so cool before.”

“It was super cool,” Hueningkai agreed. “But next time you have to save yourself, too.” 

“I don’t think we’ll be doing anything that crazy for a while, right?” Yeonjun asked with a small smile, but then the sound of the doorbell rang and they all looked up at the door, and then glanced at Soobin.

“Are you expecting someone?” Beomgyu asked as he set the glass down next to Yeonjun, now full of water.

“No,” Soobin admitted. “And it’s raining out. Not exactly good weather for visiting...” he shrugged and walked over to the door and opened it. 

He stared in surprise as he saw Yoongi standing there in the rain, with only a hoodie on and clearly soaked to the bone. He looked exhausted, but there was a spark of determination in his expression. The others came around Soobin to look and see who had arrived, and they were all just as surprised to see Yoongi there.

“I need your help,” Yoongi said as rain water ran down his face. “Please.” 

“Is this about Jimin?” Soobin asked.

Yoongi nodded. There was so much pain in his eyes.

“Come in. Let’s talk.” 


	10. Found My Way

“Here, put these on and change out of those wet clothes,” Soobin said as he walked downstairs with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and hoodie. “You’re gonna catch a cold like that.”

Yoongi gratefully took the clothes, but he didn’t seem to want to change right away. “Let me explain myself, okay? I need you to know-”

“Change first! Get warm,” Hueningkai said as he pushed Yoongi towards a room to get changed. Yoongi rolled his eyes but he did as he was told, and Hueningkai turned back to his friends as they sat anxiously now. They didn’t know what was going to happen, or what Yoongi was going to tell them. They thought they were finished with this whole business, but apparently it wasn’t finished with them.

“It’s going to be okay,” Taehyun said. “Let’s just hear him out. We don’t want to make any conclusions before we know what’s happening.”

They all nodded in agreement, and Yoongi emerged from the room at that moment in the dry clothes that were a little long for him, but he didn’t seem to care. “Alright,” he said as he placed his pile of wet clothes in a corner of the room and then turned back to look at the group of boys. “Jimin hasn’t woken up yet, and I think you five might be the key to waking him up. At the very least, you’re not exhausted like me and my friends are. I...don’t have any strength left in me to give to Jimin, and clearly it wasn’t enough to wake him.” 

“He hasn’t woken up yet?” Beomgyu shook his head. “That’s awful. But...but you six are much stronger than we are with magic. Why do you think we can do it, when you can’t?”

“We’re spent,” Yoongi said. “Like I said, I’ve spent the whole night giving Jimin my strength, and it just wasn’t enough. Taehyung, too. Jin’s exhausted, Namjoon...we’re all tired. We just…” he ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “I’m not good enough. I can’t save him. I need your help.” 

Soobin tilted his head. He understood that fear and shame in his tone. He’d felt that way, too, after the events of the Magic Island the first time they went there. He felt like he wasn’t good enough, that he couldn’t save his friends. That was what had allowed him to be tempted to follow Jimin on this wild adventure, and he was worried about Yoongi and how he might react if Jimin never woke up. 

Yoongi had been the one to start the search for the ancient book, after all. He might do something like that again if things weren’t resolved.

“You are enough,” Taehyun said as he walked over and offered a small smile to Yoongi. “We’re happy to do what we can, but I have a feeling that he just needs rest after what he went through, right?” 

“He should have woken up by now,” Yoongi said. “I’m worried there’s been some permanent damage.” he glanced over at Yeonjun as he sat on the couch with his bandages and bruises. “I know I shouldn’t be asking you...not after all that’s happened. But you must understand my position right now. I got Jimin into this, I have to do everything to get him back.”

“We’re with you,” Hueningkai said with a small smile. “Right, guys?”

“Right,” Soobin agreed. “I may not have seen the good side of Jimin very much during my time spent with him, but I do know he’s not a bad person. Everything he did, he did for all of you. I can relate to that. So...yeah, let’s go see what we can do.”

Yoongi seemed so grateful when he heard that, but all he could do was nod. Soon, the six boys were heading out of the house and back towards the home where Jimin was resting in a state they hoped to be able to break.

\-----

When they arrived back at the house, it was Soobin’s turn to be surprised at how massive the place was. He wondered how they could afford a place like this in Seoul, but he wasn’t sure if now was the right time to ask. 

“Um, wow,” Soobin said. “This place is amazing.”

“We all work pretty high profile jobs,” Yoongi replied as he rubbed his nose. It seemed he was already getting sniffles from having gotten soaking wet during his trip to find Soobin’s home. “Come on, it’s down this way.”

“You found them!” Jungkook appeared at the bottom of the stairs and he grinned. “I thought I heard voices. Come on down, I’m sure you’ll be able to help us.” 

Yoongi nodded and walked the group down the stairs and they all piled into the room where Jimin was still unconscious. The five boys all exchanged glances and seemed unsure what they were supposed to do. Beomgyu was the first one to actually approach his bedside and he gently placed his hand on Jimin’s forehead. 

“I think he wants to wake up,” Beomgyu said softly. “But something...is making it difficult for him.”

“Like, what? What does that mean?” Yoongi asked. “Does he still have some dark magic lingering in his soul, or something?”

“No,” Taehyun shook his head. “I can’t see anything like that.”

“Then what!?” Yoongi exclaimed. He was clearly frustrated at the lack of answers. Soobin could understand that, for sure.

“Does he have any sort of item that’s really important to him?” Hueningkai asked suddenly. It seemed very random, but his friends knew better than to question Hueningkai’s curiosities. He usually had a good reason for them, he had a good sense for things.

“I...I don’t know,” Jungkook shrugged a little. “I can’t think of anything.” 

“What about all of you?” Soobin asked. “Have all of you sat in here together with him, yet?”

Jungkook and Yoongi exchanged looks, and then looked back at Soobin. “Not altogether. We just...well, we put Jimin in here with Taehyung, and Namjoon, and Yoongi. We didn’t want to crowd the room, I guess,” Jungkook explained.

Soobin gestured to Jimin. “Let’s put him on the couch in the living room, and have you all come around him,” he said. “Maybe sensing all of you near...maybe that’ll finally wake him up.”

“It’s worth a shot, but it seems too simple,” Yoongi muttered as he walked forward and picked Jimin up in his arms carefully. They all followed him over to the nearest couch, where he placed him down gently while Jungkook went to retrieve everyone else in order to hopefully revive Jimin once and for all.

Soon the room was full of people, and Soobin and his friends took a step away in order to make room for Jimin’s friends. Soobin remembered how highly he spoke of his friends, how much he loved them, and he thought maybe this was just what Jimin needed. 

“What do we do?” Namjoon asked as he looked at his friends. 

“Put your hands on him,” Yeonjun suggested. “Almost as if you’re comforting him. I think it’ll make him realize everything is okay, and he can wake up. He has your energy around him, you know? He’ll feel safe.”

“He wants to wake up,” Beomgyu said with a small nod. “I can sense it. I think he’s just afraid, too.”

“He’s still afraid?” Taehyung sighed and knelt down next to the couch, putting his hand lightly on Jimin’s arm. “We’re here, Jimin. We’re not mad, and we’re not hurt. We just want you to wake up.”

“Exactly,” Hoseok said as he crouched next to Taehyung and took hold of Jimin’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Where would we be without you? We miss you.” 

“He cares about you all so much,” Soobin said. “When I was with him, he told me how precious you all are to him. Don’t ever doubt how much he treasures all of you.” 

Yoongi sniffled a little and placed his hand on Jimin’s shoulder. Namjoon stepped next to Yoongi, patting his shoulder lightly before reaching over to put his hand on Jimin’s chest. Jungkook walked over to pet Jimin’s hair. They all looked like they were about to cry, honestly. It was an emotional moment, and Soobin felt a bit embarrassed to be there and witness something that felt private.

Jin was the last one to walk over and he put his hand on Jimin’s leg lightly. “Wake up, Jimin,” he said. All of them combined seemed to fill the room with light. It was a strange thing, and Soobin quickly pulled Yeonjun, and the others closer to him protectively, since he wasn’t sure what was going to happen with all of their energy coming together like this. 

Soobin closed his eyes as the light around the seven boys seemed to get too bright, but then he felt a tugging on his sleeve and glanced down to see Taehyun there pulling on his sleeve.

“They’re so powerful,” Taehyun said softly. “Their bond with each other is so strong that it makes its own magical energy.”

“Do you think we’ll be like that one day?” Hueningkai asked.

“I think we’re like that now,” Yeonjun smiled. “We just don’t have any need to combine our energy like that, seeing as I’m conscious.”

“I hope we never have to do that kind of thing to wake you up,” Beomgyu muttered. “I’d be scared if you wouldn’t wake up.” 

“Shhh,” Soobin held his finger to his lips, and then the group fell silent as they realized this was an important moment for the others.

“Jimin!” Jungkook was the first to exclaim. It seemed he had indeed been woken by the power of all of his friends being around him, giving him their strength. Suddenly all of the boys began laughing and crying and piling on top of Jimin to give him hugs.

“Ow! Hey, hold on!” Jimin said between fits of laughter as he kept being hugged so tightly. When they finally backed off and sat down to give him space, Jimin slowly sat up and held his head. He took a moment to look at all of his friends, and then glanced up at Soobin and his friends. “Thank you.” 

Soobin shook his head. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You did. You helped me, even when I didn’t realize it,” Jimin said. “Your words ring true, you know? I didn’t help my friends by doing what I was doing. I can help my friends by just standing with them. I can’t let fear control me.” suddenly Taehyung leapt over to hug him again and Jimin laughed, patting his back and then sighing. “I’m sorry. All of you, I’m so sorry I let you down. I...made a big mistake.”

“You did,” Hoseok said with a small smile and tears welled up in his eyes. “But we’ve all learned from it. We’re all going to be scared sometimes, but please...tell us when you’re afraid so we can help. And if you still have those nightmares, we’re going to figure out a way to help you.”

“If you figure out a way to help his nightmares, can you help us figure out a way to cure the ringing in Soobin’s ears?” Yeonjun asked suddenly. “I know I probably shouldn’t ask for favors at a time like this, but…”

“I think you can ask us for favors after all you’ve done for us,” Namjoon said. “We’ll see what we can do.” 

Soobin looked at Yeonjun and shook his head, but Yeonjun nodded. “I know you don’t want help, but this journey has taught us that we need to ask for help. Right?” Yeonjun said firmly.

“Right,” Soobin said with a small smile. 

Jin patted Jimin’s cheek and looked at him. “Ahh, you look so hungry,” he said. “You haven’t eaten properly in weeks, probably. I better cook something for you.”

Jimin smiled sheepishly. “I honestly don’t really remember a lot about what happened to me when I wasn’t here. Isn’t that strange?”

“I think you were possessed by that dark magic for a long time,” Jungkook muttered. “I’m sorry we didn’t do more to help you before it got this far, Jimin.”

Jimin shook his head. “I didn’t even know anything was wrong except for the fact that I was having nightmares, so I didn’t know how to ask for help,” he said softly. “Don’t...don’t make yourselves feel bad.” then he looked up where Yoongi was just watching him quietly. “And you especially. You need to stop feeling bad. I can see it in your eyes already.”

Yoongi sighed and looked down. “But I got you into this, and we almost lost you entirely,” he said. “How can I forgive myself so easily?” 

Jimin reached over and took hold of Yoongi’s hand. “You had good intentions,” he said. “And you tried to stop me when you realized it was too dangerous. You did everything you could, Yoongi. You have no idea how grateful I am for you.”

Yoongi looked a bit shy, then, pulling his hand away and rubbing his cheek. “Alright,” he said. “Well, thank you, but I think...I need to take some time before I can forgive myself. I want to make sure you’re really going to be okay first.”

Jimin nodded a little, and then he glanced over at Soobin and finally took in his other friends. “These must be the people that you wanted to protect, huh?” 

Soobin smiled as he ruffled Hueningkai’s hair. “Yeah,” he said. “These are my best friends. They’re the most important people to me.”

“What happened to you?” Jimin asked as he looked at Yeonjun. “Was that my fault?”

“Kind of,” Yeonjun said. “I guess you must have forgotten Hueningkai’s speech. But, listen, I don’t hold it against you. You obviously weren’t yourself.” 

“I’m still sorry,” Jimin said with a small nod. 

Jin got up then and started to walk towards the kitchen. “Taehyun, want to help me in the kitchen?” he asked with a smile. “We need to make sure everyone gets fed.”

“Yes,” Taehyun smiled and followed Jin. “Let’s make a big meal!”

“It’ll be a feast,” Jin agreed.

Namjoon ruffled Jimin’s hair lightly, and he looked genuinely relieved now. It seemed that his facial expressions had softened now that he realized his friend was back and well. “We’ll talk more about what needs to be done to get you on your feet and fully healthy after we’ve eaten,” he said. “We’re going to make sure those nightmares never return, okay?”

Jimin smiled up at Namjoon. “Thank you,” he said. “I really don’t deserve you all. I really don’t, but I’m gonna make sure I make it up to all of you. I promise.” 

“You don’t have to make up anything to us,” Taehyung said. “We’re just happy you’re back.”

“I’m still going to do my best to...make amends,” Jimin said with a small smile at Taehyung. Then he slowly stood to his feet and walked over to Soobin, holding out a hand to him. “And I have to make amends to you, too.”

Soobin looked at Jimin, and then he took his hand and gave a polite bow in response, as Jimin did the same. “You don’t have to make amends to us, but I think I’d like it if we stay in contact even when this is all done,” he said. “I think we can learn a lot from you.”

Jimin stood up straight again and smiled a little. “Learn from us? I think we can learn from you,” he said. “But I’d say we’re all bonded by these events we’ve been through, so even if we have our own lives and differences, I have no doubt we’ll see each other again.”

“Jin will certainly invite you all over for dinner any time,” Hoseok chuckled. “I think we’re all going to be friends from now on, as long as you don’t mind how chaotic things are with us.”

“Things are chaotic with us, too,” Hueningkai said with a small smile. “I think it’s fate that we all got brought together.”

“That sounds about right to me,” Taehyung said as he walked over, resting his arm across Jimin’s shoulders. “Yeonjun, come on. You need to sit down on the couch and relax. We’ll get you water, or whatever you need.”

Yeonjun waved his hands, clearly not wanting all the attention suddenly. “No, I’m fine,” he said. “But I will sit down. My ribs are sore.” 

“Come on,” Jungkook said as he patted the couch. Yeonjun walked over shyly and sat down, obviously feeling a little embarrassed at all the attention. “We’re going to take care of all of you, just like older brothers. Alright?”

“Yeah! I have more older brothers!” Hueningkai cheered as he smiled. Then he looked at Jimin. “I know you probably don’t remember, but I said some harsh things to you when we were on the Magic Island. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t realize you weren’t yourself at the time.”

“I’m sure I deserved every word, especially since I hurt Yeonjun,” Jimin said with a small nod. He walked over to sit down on the couch as well, clearly a little dizzy from standing up after having not eaten anything or drank anything in a while. “Let me just sit here until I’ve eaten, and then I’ll apologize properly.”

“We don’t need that,” Soobin said. “We all survived. You’re already forgiven.” 

“I’ll do better from now on,” Jimin said softly. “I won’t let anyone down like this ever again. These temptations…? I don’t want them. I just want to work alongside my friends.”

“Bad things will happen,” Yeonjun said as he looked at Jimin. “But we have to overcome them together, with our friends. That’s what the Magic Island taught me. Maybe it taught you that, too.”

Jimin smiled a little. “I think it has,” he agreed. “Whatever comes next, I’ll be ready for it.” 

“Let’s hope nothing is coming next for a while,” Taehyung said. “I just want you to get better right now.” 

“I’m with Taehyung on this,” Soobin said with a small smile. “Let’s just get better.” 

The rest of the day was full of laughter, even Yoongi managed to laugh and smile by the end of the day, and the laughter was healing for them. Jin and Taehyun made a feast of food to help nourish their bodies and make them strong, but the smiles and laughter healed their souls and kept any evils at bay. 

Their journeys were hardly over, they had many more trials ahead of them that they couldn’t even begin to imagine, but this trial was long behind them and they had survived because they had each other.

The seven boys connected by their seven hearts. The five boys connected by their five hearts. All so different and unique in their own ways, but they used their abilities and hearts to give each other the strength to withstand even the most deadly temptations and adventures.

The time would come when their bonds would be tested again, but for now they could just rest.

For now.


End file.
